Seven Days
by Ina-chan
Summary: A beautiful virgin is accidentally cursed and now has only seven days to live. Will the curse be broken... before the saviors kill the victim?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. 

December 22, 2002

Seven Days 

Prologue

By Ina-chan

The sound of uncontrollable laughter pierced the air as the yukata-clad man doubled over the common room's low table, unable to control his mirth, while the other occupants of the room went about their business, which was mainly pondering over what to do next with their latest misfortune. 

"Is he always like that?" Uo-chan finally turned to the red-haired young man beside her, unable to suppress her irritation, "He's been going at it non-stop for the past five minutes."

"You get used to it," Kyou replied in passive indifference, silently wondering why he was still sitting here in the first place, "Oi, Hanajima, have you figured it out yet?"

The mysterious dark haired young woman didn't reply as she continued to pour her attention over the tattered ancient book she was studying in her hands. She didn't even show any indication of acknowledging that she heard her classmate's request.

"Ano… Yuki-kun, are you sure you're okay?" Tooru asked for the hundredth time,  as she bandaged the gray-haired young man's right wrist

"I'm fine, don't worry so much about me, Honda-san," Yuki smiled reassuringly to the panicking young woman for the hundredth and one time

"FEH, that's what you get for being so clum--," Kyou managed to comment before a plate sailed into the air, hitting him squarely between the eyes.  "K'so… ne…zumi" The cat managed mutter before unceremoniously falling backwards.

"K-k-kyou-kun!" Tooru cried out in horror as she rushed to the fallen cat's aid

In the background, Shigure started to laugh even harder (if that was even possible).

Uo-chan gave a reassuring pat on her best friend's shoulder, "It seems that the Prince is alright. He even managed to get a perfect shot like with an injured wrist."

"Actually, I was aiming for his mouth," Yuki corrected blandly with an involuntary wince, as he cradled his own injury

"All kidding aside, this is still a matter that needs serious attention," Shigure stated solemnly

"Is he always like that?" Uo-chan asked again, shrinking back involuntarily, a little unnerved by the novelist's sudden change in demeanor

"You get used to it," Kyou mumbled irritably as he nursed his forehead with one hand and attempted to ward away Tooru's worried hands with the other, "I'm fine! Stop it already!"

"So tell me again right from the beginning, exactly what happened that led to this?" Shigure asked

"After school there was an antique shop. We wanted to see if there was anything interesting inside. But it almost fell on me so Yuki-kun caught it. So it was really all my fault because Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun didn't want to go in the first place," Tooru explained mournfully as she wrung her hands together anxiously

Collective beads of sweat appeared on the heads of the other occupants of the room, while the writer blinked blankly at the distraught young woman's explanation. In the background, a proverbial black crow flew over their heads cawing 'bakaaa bakaaa'.

The loud clap of a book being shut loudly echoed in the silence of the room. Everyone turned their attention to the resident psychic at the end of the table, who was now solemnly resting the ancient book she was reading in front of her.

"I'm afraid that curses are not my specialty," Hana-chan began with her bland monotone, "I will have to ask my brother, Megumi, to see if he can find anything else helpful. But from what I gathered in this book, what transpired was actually a simple curse used in the past to lure beautiful young virgins into a form of human sacrifice."

"Haaaa…" was the only sound the writer could bring forth from his throat. Curses, virgins and human sacrifice in the same sentence… as kinky as it may be… that never really sounded right… specially if one is a Souma. 

"This book is part of the 'Scripture of the Unnamed'. In the ancient times, there was a small group that follows this holy sect. In order for their magic to continue to thrive, they were required to sacrifice a virgin every one hundred years. To lure their victims, they used cursed items, such as this book. The curse actually lies dormant until the day that the sacrifice draws near. When the time comes, the curse is triggered to set in motion on the first beautiful virgin that lays hands and opens this book."

"I don't believe you. If such a group existed, won't the police be after them or something?" Kyou scoffed, "Don't tell me that all that information is in that book. You've got to be making most of that up."

"That's the point. The 'Unnamed' sect was supposed to have been wiped out to non-existence many years ago. That's why this book is an important and rare find. Of course, if you don't believe me, you can read it here yourself," Hana-chan replied blandly as she nudged the book toward the orange-head's direction

"Keep that disgusting thing away from me!" Kyou yelled in revulsion, shifting away on his seat

"What exactly is the curse about, Saki-chan?" Shigure cleared his throat 

"It was said that many disasters would befall the cursed virgin after the curse is set into motion. Usually they are a string of non-related accidents that would normally result sudden death. But if the victim survives all these tragedies, the trauma would be enough to bring in the victim past the brink of madness and towards suicide. The end is always the same. The victim of the curse is always dead after seven days."

Tooru let out a small whimper and buried her face in her hands as Hana-chan ended her tale, "This is all my fault."

"Honda-san…" Yuki began uncertainly

Uo-chan let out a defeated sigh as she wrapped her hands around her distraught best friend, "You're thinking too much into this. I'm sure that this is just some parlor gimmick that antique store has to lure unsuspecting customers. In fact, we should be suing that place! Imagine having such rickety furniture and that book almost falling on your head. It's not your fault and no one is gonna die. And whoever thought of curses being real at this time and age?"

"Haaaa…" was the only sound the writer could bring forth from his throat while the cat and the mouse respectively turned their gazes elsewhere.

"But still," Hana-chan interrupted as she took the book in her hands once again, "The events that transpired this afternoon after that seem to be more than just a string of coincidences. As I said, curses are not my specialty. I'll have to ask Megumi's advice to determine if this curse is real or not. Until then, it would better to be safe than sorry."

No one in the room countered her wise advice. 

He wasn't sure if he wanted to believe everything that was revealed to him. This so-called curse sounded too much like a very bad adaptation of an urban legend. But still…whether this curse is real or not, it was enough for Tooru-kun to become overly distraught about it… The writer couldn't help but let a line of worry furrow on his forehead. 

Then again… the writer's eyes wandered mischievously from their distraught flower to the cat's controlled expression, and the mouse's obvious concern. Yes… whether this so-called curse is real or not, this whole situation can become very… entertaining.  Despite of himself, he couldn't help but let that mischievous lilt to touch his voice, "Well then, who is this unfortunate beautiful virgin who's going to need our protection for the next seven days?"

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault!" Tooru fell into another round of hysterical sobbing.  

Kyou let out an irritated snort.

 And the two girls looked away uncomfortably. 

"Me," The last occupant of the room replied with a defeated sigh, his gray hair covering his eyes

And once again, the sound of uncontrollable laughter pierced the air as the yukata-clad man doubled over the common room's low table, unable to contain his mirth.

To be continued?

Author's squawk:

                I've been writing serious and angsty fics for the longest time… I thought it was about time to go back to my roots and write something entirely silly. Yes, believe it or not, Ina-chan started out as an "insanity fic" writer. ^_^. Or how we used to say in the Jonny Quest Mailing List as "AGALAIAHRA" (Anything Goes As Long As It Ain't Hopeless Romantic or Angst). Well… I dunno how funny this fic is going to be. My taste in comedy has changed dramatically since I started writing Jonny Quest fanfics a little over seven years ago. But I hope it turns out okay…

And yes... the "Unnamed" is made up. ^_^.

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	2. Day the First

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. 

December 30, 2002

Seven Days 

Day the First

By Ina-chan

                "…and did you know? That even just 3 whole days without sleep can make a person hallucinate?" Momiji stated a matter-of-factly, the afternoon light streaming through the hall's glass windows casting a dignified halo around the golden ringlets of his hair.

                "UAAAAAH! That's amazing Momiji-kun!" Tooru exclaimed excitedly as she clutched her bag over her chest

"There's nothing amazing about reading something out of a book," Kyou huffed from beside her, his hands lazily cradling the crook of his neck

"Heeeeh! But I worked hard on this report! And Tanaka-sensei thought it was a very good independent research report," Momiji protested as he waved his folder in front of his cousin's face, "See? A perfect mark!"

"Saa, saa!" Uo-chan interrupted before the orange-haired boy could think of a response, "You don't have a part-time job today, ne Tooru? Hanajima and I are going downtown today. Do you want to come along?"

"It's been a while since I went out with Uo-chan and Hana-chan, isn't it?" Tooru commented thoughtfully

"We've all been busy, and with the semestral exams just around the corner, it would be nice to spend time together," Hana-chan added

"Of course I'll come! It'll be a lot of fun!" Tooru replied animatedly 

"I'm going too!" Momiji raised his hand up enthusiastically

Kyou automatically gave his cousin a bop on the top of the head, "Don't impose on other people's plans when you're not invited!"

The younger boy's lips trembled and a river of tears trickled down his face, "Waaaaaaaah! Kyou is picking on me again!"

"NA!?!" Kyou blurted in alarm, "Stop causing a scene!"

"But I want to go out with To-ru, too!" The rabbit whined pathetically, giving the three girls his patented, uber-cute 'I'm going to be so broken-hearted if you don't take me along with you' look shimmering in his clear light chocolate eyes

Despite of themselves, beads of sweat appeared on all three girls' heads.  An angry vein popped on the cat's forehead as he clenched his fists in controlled anger.

"You can't" A calm monotone interjected before anybody can make any further reaction to the younger boy's attempts, "You promised Kisa that you'll help her with her school project today."

"Hatsuharu-san! Yuki-kun!" Tooru called out to the two boys approaching their group

Momiji stopped on his tracks, "AH! That's right…" He immediately made a defeated sighed gave Tooru a mournful look, "I'm sorry To-ru, it seems that I can't go downtown with you today."

"But Yuki doesn't have a student council meeting today, he can go in Momiji's place," Haru offered helpfully

"Oi…" Kyou interjected, another angry vein popping on his head

"Haru, don't impose on other people's plans…" Yuki began on the same tone

"I heard that a group of girls shopping downtown were attacked by a pervert in broad daylight the other day," Haru continued, ignoring his cousins, "Now, three beautiful girls walking around downtown unescorted will definitely attract a pervert's attention like sugar attracts ants."

"Haaaa…" was the only word To-ru could make, as her eyes started to swirl in confusion as her mind started to make a silent internal ethical struggle. She didn't like the idea of imposing on Yuki to accompany them to protect them from a potential pervert attack. After all, he must have had plans to do on his own today, since it was rare recently for him to have free time after school since attaining his position as president in the student council. She was also just invited by Uo-chan and Hana-chan into their plan, and she didn't want to impose on them and hurt their feelings by inviting Yuki. But still… she wouldn't really know how to protect Uo-chan and Hana-chan from a pervert attack since she doesn't know any martial arts like Yuki-kun…

"Oi…" This time, it was Uo-chan who interrupted with an angry vein popping on her forehead. She didn't appreciate being treated like a helpless damsel in distress. But she didn't like to see her best friend getting distressed over nothing even more. Hana-chan, in the other hand, stayed silent, a small denpa wave crackling in the air above her head.

                "It's fine," Yuki stated, glaring at the cow for creating a rise, "If all of you don't mind me tagging along. I'll come along."

                "Really?" Tooru's eyes immediately shimmered in gratitude 

                "Kyo should go too!" Momiji declared

                "OI!" A third vein popped on the cat's head

                "Why not?" Uo-chan sighed, "The more the merrier?"

***@@@***

                "… and that was how it all started."

                Hatori blinked blankly as the young woman sitting across the table from him finished her tale. He only wanted to know how Yuki hurt his wrist, but okaaaaay… 

                "Is Yuki-kun going to be alright?" Tooru asked for the hundreth and fiftieth time, still wringing her hands anxiously

                "I'm fine," Yuki sighed automatically for the hundreth and fifty-first time.

The doctor turned his attention to back to mouse sitting, in front of him, as he finished re-bandaging the younger man's right wrist, "It's just some soft tissue damage. There's still a bit of swelling so just keep on icing it with a cold compress. Make sure you keep away from moving that wrist as much as possible." 

"Hai…" Yuki let out yet another sigh

"An over the counter analgesic should be enough, but if the pain becomes too unbearable, call me and I'll bring a mild narcotic tomorrow," Hatori continued

"It's fine, I don't need it," The mouse stressed as he purposely looked at the young woman across the table in the eye

"Tooru-san, how exactly did Yuki hurt himself?"

"Well… we went into this antique shop that newly opened…" Tooru continued her tale…

***@@@***

"UAAAAAAH" Tooru looked at her surroundings in great awe, "This is so amazing! There are so many pretty things inside this store, ne Yuki-kun?"

Yuki gave her a silent smile in agreement. But the truth was, the place was giving him the creeps. The lighting was dim, it was silent save for their footsteps, and the air had an old and dusty smell. The atmosphere of the place reminded him too much of some of the rooms in the Main House, to his discomfort. He wasn't surprised that the cat opted to wait outside. It was true that there were many beautiful old looking items in the shop, but there were also rickety looking furniture that looked like accidents waiting to happen.

"There are a lot of interesting denpa residues here," Hana-chan commented off-hand, "Many of these items have some… remarkable… histories."

"Is that so?" Uo-chan murmured 

"Yes. People leave essences of themselves in objects that they treasured long after they have moved on to the next plane of existence," A high nasal voice commented from the small wrinkled gnomish figure that suddenly appeared beside the ex-yankee. Out of the blue, a river of tears started flowing generously from his eyes, "To see young people interested with these, brings great pleasure to this heart of mine."

"GYAAAAAAAAH!" Uo-chan reacted in surprise, taking several involuntary steps backwards

"Uo-chan!" Tooru cried out in alarm 

The old shopkeeper shrank back from the blonde woman, obviously offended by her reaction, "That wasn't very nice."

"You shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that in the first place, Jiji-san," Hana-chan's monotone countered

"Jiji-san? With this face of mine?" The old man said with disbelief as he his leathery fingers over his wrinkled chin, "Why, my great-grandaughter told me that I could still pass as Gackt's older brother…"

Collective beads of sweat appeared on the four teen-ager's heads.

"Ano… we're sorry if we sounded a bit rude, Jiji-san," Tooru stepped forward as she made an apologetic bow

"Ah, such a sweet young girl you are, Little Miss," The shopkeeper remarked, as he stepped forward, "This poor old man will forgive you in one condition."

"Eh?" Tooru looked up in surprise

"I'll forgive you if…" The old man took the girl's hands into his own, "…you call me Oniichan instead."

Yuki immediately stepped forward, snatched the young woman, and silently pulled her away to a safe distance. He didn't want to act rude, especially to his elders. But the storeowner was just too strange. The store may have been creepy, but the old man was even creepier. 

"It's best that we get going," Hana-chan announced, obviously feeling the same weird vibes 

"Wait! You haven't seen the best part of the store yet! I have some rare trinkets at the front," The old man called out, before turning to Yuki with a knowing look, "Perhaps the Young Master would like to buy a locket or a ring for his girlfriend."

"Eh?" Yuki gaped at the old man in surprise, an embarrassed flush rising on his cheeks

"Eh!? EEEEHHH!!!?!?!? Ah! Iyaaa! No! It's nothing like that! eto…"" Of course Tooru's reaction was even more volatile, as she immediately went on super-shocked mode, her hair standing on end, inching backwards nervously with her arms waving frantically in the air

"Tooru!" 

"Tooru-kun!"

"Honda-san! Watch out!"

Her agitated movements caused her to back into the bookshelf behind her. The bookshelf toppled precariously over her as her friends rushed over to steady the unsteady furniture, not before a lone book loosened from the top shelf and made an accurate trajectory on her head. The young woman cringed and closed her eyes in anticipation of the impact only to open them and see the book over her, centimeters from her nose. 

"Nice catch, Ouji-sama!" Uo-chan called out with a whistle of relief

"Are you alright, Honda-san?" Yuki asked worriedly

"Y-y-yes!" Tooru replied, still a little rattled as Hana-chan took her by the shoulders and led her away in a safe distance

Yuki let out a breath of relief as he looked at the book in his hand and idly leafed through the pages out of habit.

"Ah, yes… that is a very special book. According to legend, this book had a curse that claimed the lives of many beautiful young virgins," The old man stated as he folded his hands solemnly, "It was said that the first beautiful virgin to hold it and open its pages every hundred years will be its chosen victim."

Uo-chan rushed forward and grabbed the little gnome by the collar, several angry veins popping on her head, "How can you keep such a dangerous book out in the open like that? What if Tooru picked it up and opened it? And curse or no curse, the damned thing almost fell on Tooru's head! What do you have to say about that, you withered old bag."

"I'll let you have it for half price," The shopkeeper replied weakly, tears starting to stream down his face again

"Setting that aside," Hana-chan interrupted before Uo-chan can muster another violent reaction, "Is it really alright for Souma Yuki to handle the book like that?"

With those words, only then did the girls noticed their sole male companion, his face hidden under his bangs, frozen in the spot where they left him, with the open aforementioned cursed book at hand. 

"Y-yuki-kun…" Tooru said, still in shock mode

"Well, I'm sure it doesn't count if it's a man who opens it," The old man stated nervously, beads of sweat the size of tennis balls running down his face, "And surely with the Young Master couldn't possibly be…"

As if on cue, the shelf behind him decided it was the perfect moment to continue its earlier descent.

"YUKI-KUN!!!"

"…ittai…"

***@@@***

                "NA!? You're still talking about that?" Kyou exclaimed in annoyance as he entered the room, fresh from his evening run

                "Welcome back, Kyou-kun!" Tooru welcomed the cat home

                "So that's how Yuki-kun hurt his wrist?" Hatori asked

                Kyou snorted, "No way. The clumsy mouse got his hand caught on the door as it slammed shut on the way out."

                "But what do we do now? We only have seven days to break the curse… or Yuki-kun will…" Tooru blubbered helplessly before Yuki could think of a response to the cat

                "Honda-san, I'm sure its just a stupid hoax," Yuki let out a reassuring sigh, "And that's exactly what Hanajima-san will say."

                "B-b-but… how do you explain the bookshelf at the shop?" Tooru insisted

                "It was already rickety as it is."

"You hurt your wrist on the door."

                "I was careless."

                "The delivery truck?"

                "Didn't the driver apologize for that?"

                "What about an hour ago, when I accidentally bumped into you and Kyou-kun almost stepped on you after you transformed?" Tooru stated with a determined look on her face

                The mouse bowed his head as a dark shadow eclipsed on his face, "I don't think that was an accident."

"OI!" Kyou bristled at his rival's accusation

"That's enough," Hatori ordered blandly, desperately trying to keep a stoic expression after silently witnessing the exchange before him, "Whether this curse is true or not… This whole incident has definitely left Tooru-san upset. Yuki, trying to belittle this whole situation is not going to help."

"What do you want me to do?" Yuki finally relented in defeat

"Just watch what you're doing, and try not to bicker about this any further," Hatori replied before turning to his orange-haired cousin, "And that's the same with you."

"Alright, alright! Geez…" Kyou muttered as he opened his sports drink to take a swig

"Or we could just simply break the curse within seven days," A deep and familiar voice suddenly spoke from beside Tooru

A wave of uncomfortable silence fell into the room.

"HA! HA! HA! HA! Good evening gentlemen and lady," Ayame announced gaily, "Don't hold back the pure tears of joy accumulating in your eyes for my glorious presence has finally come for you to behold and wonder!"

"A-Ayame-san… G-good…" Tooru cried out, once again, in surprise.

"You didn't need to come," Yuki muttered angrily

"The hell! Why do you always slink around like that? Why can't you come in a house like a normal person?" Kyou exclaimed

"How rude!" Ayame scoffed, offended, "And here I came to aid and to be at my sweet little brother's side during his time of need, as soon as I sensed his distress…"

"Ayame, what are you doing here?" Hatori interjected bluntly before the snake could continue on with his babble

"Ah! Gure-san called the shop (around 45 minutes ago). Of course I was busy with a customer at that time (that's why I wasn't here much earlier). It was Mine who got the phone call and she told me exactly what happened this afternoon (ne, Yuki if you were in the neighborhood why didn't you pass by the store), so I came as soon as I can. So here I am."

"Why can't you just answer questions like a normal person?" Yuki grumbled

"But that's not interesting!" Ayame protested, flipping strands of his silvery hair dramatically, "Not interesting at all!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT'S INTERESTING OR NOT!?" Kyou yelled, finally loosing his patience

"Ara? Kyonkichi? Since when have you been standing there?" Ayame turned to the cat in surprise

"WHY YOU---" Kyou began as he raised a fist

"Niisan," Yuki sighed, "You came to see me and saw me. Now go home."

"How rude! I just got here," Ayame frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest, "That's not the way to treat your beloved older brother, especially since I've figured out how to break this so-called curse."

"EH!?" Tooru gasped in surprise, "Is that true, Ayame-san?"

"HA! HA! HA! HA! Of course! What did you expect with this brilliant mind of mine?" Ayame replied smugly before reaching across the table and grabbing one of Yuki's hands into his own, "Today is the day when Yuki and I will finally see eye to eye and strengthen the foundation of our brotherly love."

Yuki simply winced and ground his teeth.

"Ara? No sarcastic quip? No violent reaction? No attempts to pull away?" Ayame stared at his younger brother in genuine surprise, "Can it be that Yuki has finally accepted me?"

"Ayame, he's in pain," Hatori commented, "You just grabbed his sore wrist."

"Y-y-yuki-kun… Are you alright?" Tooru turned to the mouse worriedly

"Geez! What exactly is your solution to this curse?" Kyou asked 

Ayame closed his eyes and made a solemn nod as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It's quite simple. But we'll need everyone's cooperation for it to work."

"I'll do everything I can to help, Ayame-san!" Tooru immediately responded, with a very determined look on her face

Ayame's face immediately brightened at her response, "You have no idea how ecstatic my heart is upon hearing you say that, Tooru-kun!"

"Cut to the chase and just tell us already!" Kyou interrupted in exasperation before bringing his bottle to his lips for a swig

"Well… the curse states that the beautiful virgin is going to die in seven days, right?" Ayame stated pensively, before smiling warmly at the young woman beside her,  "Then… Yuki will simply have to loose 'it' as soon as possible."

Grapefruit flavoured ionized water spurted out of Kyou's nose, while Tooru and Yuki froze in their seats, gaping at the older man in pure mortification. Hatori's hand automatically went up to cover his mouth to suppress a strange sound… something that sounded like a cross between a snort and a cough from escaping his throat.

"Now, isn't that a good idea?" Ayame stated, his hands clasped together solemnly, with a satisfied grin

"THE COUGHCOUGH HE--COUGH--ELL!!" Kyou hollered indignantly… or at least he tried to

"Haaa…" was all Tooru could say weakly, as she brought her hands to her burning cheeks while staring at an indefinite spot on the table. Yuki could only bury his own blazing face in his good hand, speechless beyond embarrassment.

"THERE'S NO WAY WE'LL LET TOORU TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!" Kyou roared furiously, as he grabbed the belligerent snake by the collar

"Ara?" The snake gawked at the cat in shock, "Does that mean Kyonkichi is volunteering to take her place?" 

"WHA—THA--- YOU---!!!" The cat sputtered incoherently, immediately let go of his older cousin's collar, as if scalded

"Well… no one said that a girl had to do it…" Ayame continued thoughtfully

"HAAAAAA!?"

"………!!!"

"HATORI SAY SOMETHING!!!"

"…i…diot…" was all Hatori could manage to utter before bowing his head to hide his face, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably in silent laughter…

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

                MAN! It's so much harder to write a comedy over good old angst! I hope this piece doesn't turn into serious. ^_^. Anywayz… When I wrote this chapter, I was thinking of you, Mona-chan. ^_^. Unfortunately, this will be the closest attempt I will ever go towards yaoi. I simply neither have the imagination nor the desire to write explicit "boy love".  ^_^. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far…

                Anywayz… some Japanese pop culture notes.

                Gackt is a very famous and very hot looking J-Rock singer. If you don't know who he is… points finger accusingly you are not a true Anime Otaku!!! ^_^. Just kidding! ^_^.  If you don't know what he looks like… well… he's actually the inspiration for the character design of Squall Lionheart from FFVII. Search for his many fan-shrines to see this eye-candy, hear-pounding goodness. If you're lucky, you'll find a site that houses mp3's so you can hear his angelic voice as well! ^_^. He's one of the few J-Rock singers who actually has REAL talent in the trade, not just another pretty face that will fade away after the fans are tired of him. 

                Kyou's sports drink is my personal tribute to "Pocari Sweat". It's something like "Gatorade", but I like it better.  It's a salty-sweet isotone ion replacement drink, which also has a hint of grapefruit. ^_^. Ironically, I had a bad introduction to it. My sister made me drink it lukewarm, and it was DISGUSTING! "No wonder they call is Pocari Sweat, it tastes just like sweat!!!" But it's a good thing I gave it another chance, 'cause it actually tastes pretty good ice cold. What I do is put it in the freezer overnight and then put it in my gym bag in the morning. So when I hit the gym after work, it's a nice refreshing slush, perfect after a sprinting a couple of laps.  ^_^.

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	3. Day the Second

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. _

**_Seven Days : Day the Second_**

By Ina-chan

Kaibara H.S. Courtyard

12:15 

                "Ara?" Hana-chan's monotonous voice had a hint of surprise as she studied her friend's face. She sensed something amiss in her friend's denpa this morning, but now as they sat together for lunch, on the grass out by the courtyard, her suspicions became clear. Under the bright sun, the faint dark circles under Tooru's eyes had become more apparent. 

Come to think of it… the dark haired woman paused as she nibbled thoughtfully on a stick of chocolate covered Pocky… there were also something equally odd with Souma Yuki's denpa. A line of worry furrowed over the young woman's forehead as she turned her full attention to her best friend, "Is everything all right, Tooru-kun?"

            "Eh?" Uo-chan looked up and silently studied the face of the young woman in front of them

            Beads of sweat lined on Tooru's forehead as she forced a strained smile to line her lips, "O-o-of course everything's all right?"

            "Suspicious…" Hana-chan closed her eyes before delicately biting the chocolate Pocky stick she held on her hand

            "What's suspicious?" Uo-chan echoed apprehensively at the denpa woman's words

 "Tooru-kun's denpa." 

"Eh?" Rivulets of sweat started to flow down the girl's face

"And for some strange reason, Souma Yuki seemed to be consciously avoiding you all morning… and Souma Yuki's denpa as well is…"

            Tooru froze, her bangs hiding and shadowing her eyes as she bowed her head

            "Tooru…" The ex-yankee narrowed her eyes dangerously as she leaned forward to force her best friend to meet her eyes, "Did something happen last night?"

            "EH!? N-n-nothing happened!" Tooru exclaimed, instantly going on 'super-shocked-mode', "We didn't do anything at all! Kyou-kun even made sure by standing guard and sleeping in the hall by my door all night last night. Not that Yuki-kun would do anything like that. I tried to make Kyou-kun go back to his room so he can sleep more comfortably… but Ayame-san slept over so Kyou-kun said that he wanted to make sure Ayame-san and Shigure-san wouldn't think and plot of doing something weird together… but everything turned out all right. Nothing happened… ah-heh-heh… heh…"

            "Ara?" Hana-chan blinked, hand carrying another Pocky stick, frozen in mid-air.

            "Doing… something… weird…?" Uo-chan's right eyebrow started to twitch uncontrollably. 

            "Haaaaaa…" Tooru uttered as she clasped her hands together and wrung her fingers nervously

            "Toooooruuuuuu…" Uo-chan drawled in a dangerously low  'you-don't-have-a-choice-but-to-tell-me-everything-now' growl

            "**H-HAI!!!**Ayame-sancameovertoShigure-san'shousewhenhefoundoutfromKuramae-sanaboutYuki-kunandthecurseandsaidthattheonlywaytobreakthecurseisforYuki-kuntostopbeingavirginbeforethesevendaysareupandnowYuki-kunandKyou-kunaremanandneitherofthemwillletmeandKyou-kundoesn'twanttodoiteither," Tooru stammered anxiously in one breath as she brought her hands over her flaming cheeks

            "………" Hana-chan bit into her Pocky stick blankly

            Uo-chan's reaction, however, was more volatile and spontaneous…

            "**WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!**" She screamed as she abruptly got on her feet, angry veins popping all over her head, one indignant fist shaking in front of her, "**W-WHAT KIND OF STUPID IDIOT WOULD SUGGEST SOMETHING SO… SO… SO… STUPIDLY… IDIOTIC!?!?!?!?**"

            "Haaa…" Tooru timidly faltered as another bead of sweat nervously hung over her forehead

            "Calm down, Arisa," Hana-chan's soothing monotonous voice intoned, "However stupid it is, the suggestion is only out of common sense."

            Uo-chan took a deep cleansing breath and sat down again, "I know that… but why do they have to suggest that Tooru do such a thing."

            "Ayame-san that no one said it had to be a girl," Tooru offered helpfully

            "Ah, that's even worse…" Uo-chan looked as if she was going to turn green with disgust at the thought****

            "Of course, the real question to ask here is…" Hana-chan stated seriously as she crushed her empty Pocky box and primly brushed the crumbs that were caught by her skirt, before giving her best friend a significant look, "Does Tooru-kun want to?"           

            "Of course not! How can you even let a thought like that enter your mind?" Uo-chan countered irritably before turning her attention to the timid girl, "Tooru DOESN'T want to, right?"

            "Eh?" Tooru stared back     at her friends blankly. She didn't even think about it at all. She was too horrified at Ayame's suggestion at that time to really think about it. She bowed her head as she sank deeper into her thoughts. 

She didn't want Yuki-kun to die, and it was true that she would do anything she could in order to help him. But sleeping with him… no, she can't do such a thing. It's not right. Yuki-kun is special. So he needs a special girl to be with him. She's just plain and ordinary. They don't match at all. Yuki-kun couldn't even get himself to look at her since last night. Not that she was able to raise her own eyes to look at him, but she was pretty sure he was disgusted at the thought of doing something like that with a plain and simple girl like her…

            And Kyou-kun… she's never seen him with that expression on his face when he was guarding her door. He was so serious and determined… and angry… Not the usual angry look he always carries. She couldn't explain it, but the look on his face was just different… almost scary.

            She made Kyou-kun angry… and Yuki-kun… no… there's no way he could possibly want her…

            For some strange reason, the thought started to make her chest started hurt. She clutched her chest, trying to will away the painful ache that throbbed in time with her heart. She felt tears of despair starting to well in her eyes. She was such a hypocrite. There she was, saying that she would do anything to help… but in the end she was useless. And the whole thing was her fault too. This was the thanks she gave in return when Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun and all the Soumas were so kind to her…

            "Tooru-kun, sorry," Hana-chan said softly as she put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, "I didn't mean for Tooru-kun to get upset over my question. That's not the only solution to the problem. As soon as Megumi figures out the curse, we're sure to find out how we can break it without resorting to that."

            The timid young woman nodded as she wiped the unshed tears pooling at the corners of her eyes with the back of her sleeve, before breaking into a weak smile, "I should be the one who's sorry. Hana-chan and Uo-chan are both worrying over me. I'm not even sure why I suddenly felt like crying."

            "It's because your heart still hasn't decided between the two of them yet," Uo-chan simply stated in a soft and serious tone, studying her friend's profile

            "Eh?" Tooru blinked and gave the ex-Yankee a puzzled look

            "Saa! It's going to be time to go back to class soon," Uo-chan announced more cheerfully, ignoring her, "We better clean up and start to get going."

            "Ah! I'll throw away the trash!" Tooru offered, returning to her usual light demeanor, as she gathered their litter in a bag and made her way to the rubbish bin at the far end of the courtyard

            "Yare-yare…" Uo-chan sighed when the other girl was out of hearing distance, "What a big mess we're in. Ne, Hanajima, you better make sure that you and your brother finds another way to solve this problem."

            "I promise to find another solution, " Hana-chan stated solemnly, "I won't allow Tooru-kun to have to make a sacrifice in order for Souma Yuki to get rid of his virginity to save his life." 

Kaibara H.S. Covered Walkway

12:30

"**EEEEHHHH!?!?!?**" Kinoshita Minami, second-year-representative of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, screamed in horror at the news, "A-a-are you sure you heard that right, Mio-san?"

Yamagishi Mio, first-year-representative of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, nodded as she bent over to catch her breath, "I overheard the Yankee and Denpa Demon as I passed by the courtyard!"

Kinoshita made a determined fist, "As second year representative and current senior officer of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, I cannot allow this! We vowed to Minagawa-senpai that while she's busy with her college entrance examination preparation that we will protect our Prince Yuki from the likes of that Witch, Honda Tooru, with all our strength."

Yamagishi nodded in agreement, "Yes… so what do we do? The Yankee and the Denpa Demon is going to protect the Witch more than ever now."

A bead of sweat appeared on the older girl's forehead.

Kaibara H.S. Hallway

12:31

"Ne, ne, ne… I overheard something interesting while I was passing by the walkway," a random Kaibara High School student called after a group of students in the hallway

Kaibara H.S. Cafeteria

12:32

"Did you hear about Souma-san?"

"Souma-san? Which one?"

"The really cute one."

"Can't you be even more specific?"

"The incoming school council president."

"Souma Yuki-kun? What about him?"

"I heard that…"

Kaibara H.S. Library

12:33

"Did you know that Yuki-kun is…"

"**NO FRIGGIN' WAY!!!**"

"**SHHHH!!!!** Quiet over there, don't you know where you are?" 

Kaibara H.S. Teacher's Lounge

12:34

"Mayuko-sensei!"

"Eh?"  

"The students are saying something disturbing about one of the students in your class!"

Kaibara H.S. Student Council Room

12:35 

            "Hai, moshi-moshi!" A young man answered his cell phone casually, before his eyes suddenly grew wide at the message he heard,  "**YUKI IS WHAAAAAAT!?!?!?**"

Kaibara H.S. Class 2-D

12:35 (and 20 seconds)

            "This is an emergency! Emergency!" Momiji yelled at the top of his lungs as he burst into the classroom door, "Yuki! Kyo! To-ru! It's an emergency!"

            "**NA!?** What are you doing here? It's almost time for classes to start!" Kyou crossed his arms sternly as he gave his younger cousin an irritated look. By then, most of the class had returned from lunch break, and was eyeing the scene before them curiously. Kyou turned around and gave his classmates a scary angrier-than-usual-glare, "**WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU STARING AT!?!?!**"

            The members of class 2-D turned around uncomfortably and pretended to ignore the scene. Kyou returned his attention to the rabbit, "Stop making a scene and go back to your class."  

            "But this is an emergency!" Momiji protested, "Where's Yuki?"

            Kyou let out an annoyed sigh as he jutted his thumb to the general direction of a figure uncharacteristically and tiredly slumped over his desk.

            "Eh?" Momiji blinked as he walked closer, "Why is Yuki wearing his gym shirt in class?" 

            "It's somewhat a long and very interesting story…" Kyou smirked, despite of himself

            "Shut up, stupid cat," came Yuki's muffled reply

            "What's wrong with Yuki," Momiji asked worriedly before the cat can utter a retort, "Is Yuki sick?"

            Yuki sighed and lifted his head, "Isn't there something that you wanted, Momiji?"

            "Ah! That's right!" The younger boy's eyes widened as he remembered the reason why he came in the first place, "Some of my classmates were saying something strange about Yuki…"

            "Haru! That idiot!" Kyou groaned in exasperation as he automatically made his way to the door

            Yuki made another sigh as he stood up from his seat.

            "No, wait! That's not the emergency!" Momiji objected as he grabbed on to Yuki's sleeve, "The other students were saying that Yuki…"

            "**SOUMA YUKI-KUN!!! HOW COULD YOU!!!**" 

            Yuki made an involuntary wince at the sight of Manabe Kakeru stood by class 2-D's doorway, gasping and trying to catch his breath.         

            "**NA!?** Now, who the hell is **THIS** idiot?" Kyou muttered in annoyance

            "I, Manabe Kakeru, incoming vice-president of the student council will not allow this dishonourable travesty to continue. Most specially by the incoming student council president," Manabe ranted as he made his way to stand in front of the bewildered young man, "As our leader, you should be a role model to your subordinates in the student council!" 

            "Manabe-san, what in the world are you talking about?" Yuki frowned, genuinely starting to get annoyed

            "**KAAAAAA!**" Manabe let out his suppressed cry as he grabbed Yuki by the arms, tears running down his face, "Don't be so selfish Yun-yun! You have to infect me with it too! **I'M BEGGING YOU!** **PLEASE INFECT ME TOO!!** Who would have thought such a wonderful illness existed!"

            "**What are you talking about!?**" Yuki stated coldly, now going beyond the level of annoyance and quickly reaching ire

            "What am I talking about?" Manabe echoed as he blinked, instantly letting the other young man out of his grasp, "But the whole school is talking about it. There's no use hiding and denying it now."

            "Hiding? Denying what?" Yuki demanded angrily

            "That Souma Yuki is ill with a very serious an life-threatening disease…" Manabe crossed his arms solemnly, "… and the only cure is to get laid by a beautiful and willing virgin as soon as possible."

            "**EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!?!?!?!**"

            The silence that accompanied the 45 pairs of eyes watching the mortified and frozen figure that is Souma Yuki from inside the classroom of class 2-D was a hundred times more deafening that the symphonic clattering of chairs, pens, notebooks, and other various objects that followed the collective reactive gasps to Manabe Kakeru's revelation.

            Yuki's pale lips moved silently, an obviously failed attempt to defend himself. His eyes wandered around the room like a caged animal, desperately trying not to drown in the sea of his classmate's equally shocked faces staring back at him. And finally, his eyes finally stopped as he met the horrified look on a certain pair of brown eyes, of a certain girl accompanied by her two best friends, who was most unfortunately entering the classroom at that very crucial moment. 

Then it began.

That uncomfortable and burning tightening in his chest that prevented life-giving air from moving in and out of his lungs. His eyes blurred as he clutched his chest and grasped the edge of his desk with his other hand as his legs started to loose their strength.

"**Y-Y-YUKI-KUN!!!**"****

"Oi, what's wrong with him?"

"Kyo, is Yuki having an attack?"

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK, YOU IDIOT!?**"

"**SOMEBODY GET A TEACHER!!**"

"**SCREW THE TEACHER! SOMEBODY GET A WILLING VIRGIN!!**"

"**YOU REALLY ARE AN IDIOT!!!**"****

Souma Shigure's House

15:45 

            Hatori blinked in surprise at the scene that greeted him. Tooru rushed to him, babbling incoherently with tears streaming generously down her face, before he could even take his shoes off. Shigure was sprawled on the floor, tired and half-conscious from a long bout of laughing. Momiji, Haru, Kyou and Tooru's two friends were seated around the table playing a game of cards. And Ayame was… 

            "Ara! Tori-san has arrived!" Ayame exclaimed cheerfully as he waved a washcloth at him before dumping it in a basin of iced water

            Hatori blinked again.

…what the hell was Ayame still doing here in the first place?

            Kyou looked up and saw the young doctor before letting out a tired sigh, "It's a long and interesting story."

            Hatori closed his eyes and raised a palm, "No, I don't think want to hear it."

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

            Haaaa! My first finished fic after a bout of 4-day creativeness exhaustion! ^_^. Well… I hope you guys enjoyed this. I'm starting to loose steam on thinking up of funny situations! I think the next chapter will be serious but mostly waffy (of course, just as insanely silly). It's just because I'm starting to feel sorry for Yuki and maybe give him a little break. Man! I'm really putting him in a lot of stressful situations. Haaaa… makes you wonder if he will really survive through this fic, ne?

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	4. Day the Third

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries_

January 27, 2003 **_Seven Days : Day the Third_**

By Ina-chan

            The cool breeze danced gently around him, causing wisps of his soft gray bangs to sway playfully along, as if oblivious to the cumbersome weight of weariness bearing down on his entire being. He leaned on the railing at the roof of the school and rested his chin on his arms. The faint sound of voices talking in the ground floor barely registered in his ears, as well as the enthusiastic chants of the track team carried by the breeze from the track field in the near distance. His eyes drooped, only to quickly snap open again, his mind quickly reminding him the danger of falling asleep.

/The student council meeting should be over by now,/ The thought flashed through his mind idly. 

He sighed in annoyance. The entire school council voted unanimously and literally threw him out of the council room, insisting that he go home early to get some rest. Most especially after the spectacle brought by his anxiety attack back then. But… thanks to Manabe-san's little episode the day before, the entire school was all over him with all sorts of ridiculous propositions to "cure" him from his "illness".  The last thing he wanted right now was to meet Kinoshita-san and her legions of followers.

"So you took the coward way out and hid in the roof," A familiar monotonous voice said out loud from behind him

Yuki made another sigh and gave his cousin a sidelong glance from the corner of his eye, idly and silently wondering if Haru is some kind of mind-reader

"Yuki's actions simply states aloud what he thinks," Haru replied, "…and because Yuki's heart is close to mine, it makes it easier for me to read."

Yuki frowned and turned his gaze to the group of students cleaning the courtyard on the ground floor.

"There's no need to be angry, I was just simply stating the truth," The Ox continued as he leaned his back on the railing beside the Mouse, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Yuki sighed, finally speaking out load

"You should have followed Hatori's advice and stayed home today. That was a bad spasm you had yesterday," Haru commented

"It wasn't even that," Yuki groaned as he buried his face in his arms, "It was just an anxiety attack. Please stop making a big deal out of it."

"You were lucky that you didn't transform and that Mayuko-sensei came before hell broke loose in your classroom," Haru continued, unwilling to let the subject go 

"A rumor has an average run of 65 days… In a few weeks, everyone will completely forget about this entire stupidity," Yuki replied

Haru cocked his head, "But it's only been a day and you already look half-dead."

"I'm fine," The older boy insisted stubbornly

"No you're not. You're so stressed, you're like an elastic band stretched to the limit that could snap at any minute," The Ox let out a long sigh, "It won't hurt to skip a few days off school… lay low and relax until your system's recovered."

"Skip a few days off school…" The Mouse echoed as he shot the younger boy a dirty look, "I suppose around four days would be perfect?"

Haru gave his cousin a thoughtful look, "Well, technically three… since the last day would be on Sunday."

"I KNEW IT!" Yuki growled as he pushed himself up from the railing to face his cousin angrily, "This is about that stupid curse, isn't it? Don't tell me that you believe that it's true, as well…"

"It doesn't matter if it's true or not," Haru replied monotonously, "Whether or not it's true, it's affecting you. At this rate, you ARE going to get sick and you WILL die within the seven-day deadline."

"And I suppose you also support Niisan's idea to break the curse," Yuki replied sarcastically as he turned away and leaned once again on the railing

"Well…" Haru paused thoughtfully

The mouse shot the cow a reprimanding look, "You can't be serious."

Haru gave his older cousin a mischievous grin, "You have to admit, it is a rather fun idea."

Yuki shook his head in exasperation.

"I bet more than half of the female student population is willing to throw themselves at your feet," Haru continued

"Will you stop it? That's NOT funny," Yuki groaned as buried his face in his arms

"Actually… I think… ah… here…" The younger boy pulled out several envelopes from his pockets, "Some girls in my class wanted me to give you these… Momiji probably has a few more. And I'm afraid to take a look at your shoe locker right now…"

"Throw them in the garbage," came the older boy's muffled reply

"That's cold, Yuki! The least you can do is read them. It's the most honorable thing you can do. After all, these girls wrote these letters with all their love… " Haru berated as he waved a pink one in the air, "…like Watanabe-san… she's 32-26-34 and willing to comfort you in every way…"

Yuki spun around to face his cousin in shock, "You opened and read them!?!?!"

"Of course, how else am I supposed to know what's in them?" Haru replied non-chalantly with a shrug, "But personally, I don't think Watanabe-san is a virgin anymore. Then again… it's you who needs to lose it anyway… Ah… Saiki-san. I was surprised that she actually sent one. She's so quiet and shy in class…"

"Come on, Haru… stop it," Yuki moaned as he rubbed a hand on his temple, as if trying to ward off a headache

"But it's interesting," Haru opposed, "Ara? There's a letter from Sawamoto-san? But he's a guy…"

"I SAID STOP IT!" Yuki hissed in low and dangerous tone

Haru studied his cousin's angry features before shrugging, "Fine, I'll throw them all in the garbage... Though I still think it's a waste. I didn't even get to read Honda-san's…" 

Yuki froze at his younger cousin's words, "Honda-san? She wrote a letter?" 

The cow nodded as he pulled out a white sheet of paper from his wad of letters.

"You're lying," Yuki shook his head and once again turned away from the other boy, "There is absolutely no way Honda-san would have written such a letter to me."

"Dear Yuki-kun," Haru began in his bland monotone, "I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to say this to you face to face. I know that you are going through a hard time and I'm sorry that I was too much of a coward to come to your side when you needed someone to support you the most. The whole situation is just too awkward and weird… so I'm sorry for hesitating as well. I simply don't know what to say or what to do in these kinds of matters. Nonetheless, I just want you to know that…" Haru stopped as he extended his arm and offered the letter for his cousin to continue reading

Yuki stared at the piece of paper in front of him, his pulse beating loudly in his ears. With shaking fingers, he tentatively took the letter from his cousin's hand and stared blankly at the neat scribbles in front of him. Haru buried his hands in his pockets and strolled casually a short distance away to give his cousin some privacy.

"…I just want you to know that I…" Yuki whispered softly, needing to hear the words aloud as much as he needed to read it, "…I do care for you deeply. Even though I will probably be completely useless in helping you, I will be willing to listen to anything you need to say. And I'll do my best to cheer for you, so that you too will have the strength to do your best. I will be waiting for your reply… Honda…" Yuki closed his eyes as he folded the letter in his hands after reading the signature. His lips thinned into a straight line as his right eyebrow started to twitch involuntarily, "…Haru, come here." 

"What? You didn't like it?" Haru stated innocently from across the roof, "I thought Honda Misato-san's letter was the sweetest of the lot."

"Haru…" Yuki stated again, more commanding and more firmly, "Come. Here."

"Why?" Haru replied slowly, as he inched slowly towards the open stairwell door  
  
            "Because," Yuki smiled sweetly as he turned around once again to face the younger boy, "I want to push you off the railing so I can hang you upside-down from the side of the building."

 "You know," Haru said, his voice laced with uncharacteristic exasperation, "I don't understand why you're making such a big deal of this. Any normal red-blooded male will take advantage of the opportunity being served to you in a silver platter. You can have any girl for the picking, and yet you choose to stay in your pedestal of high morality. Why do you have to be so prude and boring?"

"Pru… Buh… WHAT!?" Yuki stammered, genuinely getting annoyed now, "That has nothing to do with this! Had it ever occurred to you that I may not want to do THAT with just ANY GIRL? That maybe I would prefer to do it with the girl I love?"  

"So… you already know who you want…" Haru gave his cousin a knowing smile as he challenged him with a look, "Then… what's the problem?"

The older boy stopped as his younger cousin's words stabbed at him, every last ounce of whatever irksome feelings he felt, immediately evaporated. His arms dropped to his sides as he closed his eyes and bowed his head, feeling a bit humbled by the Ox's wisdom. Without another word, he made his way to the stairwell door beside his cousin.

"What's stopping you?" Haru asked again, in a soft whisper

Yuki lifted his head and gave him a sad smile as he handed back the letter to his cousin, "She has to love me back."

The younger boy blinked in surprise, before returning his cousin's smile…

…just before the mouse roughly grabbed him on the collar and gave him a glare so cold that the very air around them seemed to drop several degrees in the thermometer, "Now if you ever… EVER… pull a stunt like that on me again… I will skin you alive… roast you… and feed you to the birds. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!?"

"Hai, hai, hai…" Haru replied in his normal monotone, raising his hands up in surrender

"Ah! Yuki and Haru are up here!" Momiji's voice filtered a flight of stairs below, "To-ru! I found them. They're right here!"

Within seconds, a hyperactive rabbit and a very breathless girl came to view at the bottom of the last flight of stairs. Tooru immediately leaned on the stair railing for support, swirly-eyed and wobbling as she panted to catch her breath. 

"Honda-san? Are you all right?" Yuki asked in concern, a nervous bead of sweat appearing on his forehead

"I… I-I'm… so… re..lieh…lieved!" She managed to gasp, "I was… loo… king… all… all… everywhere… for you… Yuki… kun."

"Eh?" Yuki blinked, "Why?"

"Shame on you, Yuki! To-ru was so worried!" Momiji scolded his older cousin in a huff, "She waited for the school council meeting to finish just to make sure you're okay. But weird Mr. Vice-President said that you already went home. We called Shi-chan, and he said you weren't home yet!"

Haru quietly smiled to himself, as he saw the gentle look automatically appearing on his older cousin's delicate features, before letting out a hopeless sigh.

"I'm sorry," Yuki said sheepishly as he gave Tooru an apologetic look, "I went to the roof for some fresh air before I headed home. I guess I forgot the time."

"Why don't we just all go home," Haru suggested as he made his way down the stairs

"Yes~~~ I'm starving!" Momiji agreed as he led Tooru by the arm, "Nee~~~ To-ru, what are we having for supper?"

"Don't invite yourself," Yuki berated calmly as he followed his cousins down the stairs and walked by the girl's other side

"Don't waste your energy arguing with him," Haru cautioned from behind him, "Specially at your tired state… you're sure to lose anyway."

"Heeeh? Yuki is tired? Isn't Yuki getting enough sleep?" Momiji asked worriedly

"I'm okay…" Yuki sighed 

"It's not okay," Tooru said quietly, as she turned her concerned eyes to the mouse, "I could hear you toss and turn from my room half of the night. If you don't get enough sleep, you could get sick."

"I'm fine," Yuki insisted, "I've just been having some weird dreams that keep waking me up."

"Weird dreams? Like what?" Tooru stared at the gray-haired boy beside her, her eyes widening in alarm

Yuki felt heat rush to his cheeks and immediately looked away in embarrassment, "I… uh… don't really… remember them…"

"AH! I read something about dreams when I did my research paper. There was one whacked-out theory on why we can't remember most of our dreams when we wake up," Momiji offered helpfully

"And what's that?" Haru inquired

"It said, that we have dreams in our entire lifetime that can be so traumatic to our conscious psyche, that our brain decides to block our memories of those dreams," Momiji replied in a matter-of-fact tone 

            "And what are those dreams?" Tooru asked curiously

            "It said, that in our entire lifetime, we will dream that we will…" Momiji paused for dramatic effect, "…sleep with every single person we know."

            Haru blinked.     

"EH!?" Tooru froze in super shock mode.

Yuki lost his balance in surprise…

…and tumbled straight down to the bottom of the stairs.

            For a few moments… a deafening silence filled the stairwell…

            "…ittai…"

            "**YU--YU--- YUKI-KUN!!!**"

            Haru sighed as he pulled out his cell phone and pressed a button on the speed dial option.

            "Harii?" Momiji asked mournfully

            "Hatori-niisan," Haru nodded blandly

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

            One more chapter down! ^_^. This one turned out completely different as I originally planned. But, ah, well… The dream theory… I dunno if it's real. My cousin Bry told me that he picked it up from a Freudian theory… but I haven't seen it. I think that theory is simply taken out from the Tao of Bry… so don't take it seriously. ^_^.

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	5. Day the Fourth

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries_

February 13, 2003

**_Seven Days : Day the FOURTH_**

By Ina-chan

            "Well… today was a good day," Momiji commented cheerfully as he skipped backwards, facing his three cousins. Yuki and Haru silently walked beside each other. Kyou was walking a few steps behind, lazily cradling the back of his neck in his hands, as the four boys made their way back to Shigure's house.

 "That's true," Haru mumbled quietly, as he gave the older boy walking beside him a significant look, "This was the first time in the entire week that we made through the end of the day without any incident."

The mouse neither replied nor made any indication of even acknowledging his cousin's comment.  For the past four days, he survived the horrors of various near death experiences. From a range of, and often heavy, objects falling on him, an out of control delivery truck, and public humiliation. It was suspicious. It was almost as if everyone and everything was bent on making him resign to one of two inevitable fates that he has no desire to pursue. 

"But…" Momiji continued, "Yuki's luck seems to be stronger. That was a spectacular fall from yesterday, and Yuki managed to get away with just a few scratches and bruises."

The mouse winced as he is reminded if the incident that happened the day before. Hell, even the very laws of gravity seemed to be going against him. He swore silently under his breath, fighting the urge to clutch his throbbing wrist, which was agitated once again by his fall. He already managed to psychologically numb the pain since this morning, but Momiji had to go around and jog his memory of it. 

His mind's eye wandered to the small plastic bottle of painkillers that Hatori had given him yesterday. He purposely buried in a corner of his drawer. He always hated the idea of taking medicine… period. He would only take it if necessary. But painkillers and sedatives were another story.  He never liked the sedating side effect of those pills. For some strange reason, he seemed to be overly sensitive to it. The last time he was forced to take small amount codeine, he was knocked out for a day and a half. And with his current circumstances, falling asleep and falling prey to those weird dreams he keeps having was the last thing he wanted to happen. 

            "Geez! Stop hovering over him like a mother hen, already! Tooru does enough of that for the past couple of days, and it's already getting tiring," Kyou muttered in annoyance, "It's his own damn fault with that infernal clumsiness of his that he keeps getting into all these accidents."

            Normally, Yuki would have sent the stupid cat flying with the insulting comment. Of course, the fact that he's too tired, miserable, and in too much pain to do anything close to that sort had a part on stopping him from doing so. He actually felt relieved that at least there was one person who was still treating him normally. Even if it was just the stupid cat.

            "Heeeeh…" Momji intoned impishly as he stopped in mid step to turn his attention to his other cousin, "If I didn't know better, I would think Kyo is actually jealous of the extra attention To-ru is giving Yuki!"

            "**NA!?**" The cat bristled, face flushing with embarrassment, at the younger boy's comment, "**YOU CARE TO REPEAT THAT, YOU LITTLE SQUIRT!?**"

            "WAAAAA!!! Kyo is blushing! Kyo is bluuuuuuuushing!!!" Momji cried out in a sing-song voice as he turned around to sprint for his life

            "**WHY YOU LITTLE--- COME BACK HERE, YOU DAMNED LITTLE---**" The cat sputtered angrily as he ran after the fleeing bunny   

The mouse let out a long sigh at the sight of his cousin's antics.

            "Are you sure you're alright?" Haru's quiet voice suddenly spoke beside him

            Yuki made an involuntary inward groan, "Here we go again. How many times do people have to ask that question in a day? Are you and Honda-san striving to get a world record or something?"

            "Hnnnnnnn…" Haru intoned idly as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "That would be an interesting accomplishment."

            The older boy let out another sigh, "I'm fine. And you and Momiji didn't have to walk me home either."

            "Promising Honda-san that we'll get you home safe was the only way to reassure her so she could go to her part-time job in peace," Haru replied, before changing the subject, "Did you get any sleep?"

            "I suppose Honda-san also made you promise to interrogate me with my sleeping habits as well…" Yuki muttered irritably

            "Hnnnnnnn…" The cow replied nonchalantly as his eyes wandered in the near distance where the cat finally caught up with the rabbit and was in the middle of giving the wailing younger boy a punishment noogie, "…have you been sleeping?"

            The mouse ran his fingers through his hair and simply made another sigh, trying to squash his quickly budding annoyance. The truth was, since his verbal admission the day before, his nocturnal restlessness had finally become full-blown insomnia, "I don't understand why you are making such a big deal out of this." 

            "It's only natural to worry over people you care about," Haru stated solemnly

            The older boy suddenly found himself unable to think of an answer to counter a comment like that that.           

            "Is it those strange dreams?" Haru continued, "Are those the reason why you can't sleep?"

            "What?" Yuki gave his cousin a startled look, "How did you…"

            "You mentioned yesterday that you were having strange dreams," Haru explained, giving the older boy a curious look, "What were you dreaming about?"

            The mouse stared wordlessly at the other boy's gaze and immediately felt heat rushing to his face, as the half-remembered images from the dreams that haunted him since his older brother suggested "the cure" to his situation flooded his head. He turned away and quickened his pace to leave his younger cousin behind.

            "I see…" Haru's knowing tone filtered after him, "Was she good?"

            "**SHUT UP! THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!**" Yuki sputtered in total mortification as he spun around to face the younger boy. 

            "Ne, ne, ne? What's going on?" Momiji asked curiously, immediately breaking away from Kyou and rushing forward to his other cousins

            "I just asked a perfectly normal question, then for some reason, Yuki got angry all of the sudden…" Haru gave his cousins an innocent look,"…mystery."

            "Feh, any question coming from you is far from normal," Kyou muttered as he crossed his arms and turned around to walk ahead

            "So what was the question?" Momiji continued

            "Say another word, and I swear, I won't be held responsible for what happens afterwards," Yuki glared at the white-haired boy 

            Haru shrugged, "I don't understand why      you're making such a big deal like this. Every hot-blooded male have dreams like that. You should be worried more if you don't. Just sit back and enjoy the show."

            "Dreams?" Cute rabbit ears automatically poked out of Momiji's head at the mention of his latest interest, "What kind of dreams?"

            "The kind that has a rating only suitable for adults…" Haru explained a matter-of-factly

            "**HARU---**" Yuki growled dangerously 

            "Geez, you're getting all worked up for **THAT**?" Kyou smirked at the Mouse, "You're such a tight-ass. Everybody has dreams like that."

            "Heeeeh? So Kyou is saying that he also has dreams about Honda-san that way," Haru stared at his other cousin in genuine surprise

            "**NA!!?!?!?**" was all the Cat managed to utter out loud as his eyes grew wide as saucers and his face started to make a good impersonation of a ripe tomato right to the very tips of his ears

            "Unglaublich!" Momiji covered his mouth in shock, "I know I tease you about it, but I didn't realize that it was true."

            "**STOP PUTTING WORDS IN MY MOUTH!!!**" Kyou yelled angrily before instinctively pointing an accusing finger at his rival, "**AND WHO ARE YOU TO TALK!?!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ADMITTED HAVING PERVERTED THOUGHTS ABOUT HER!!!**"

            The Mouse bristled at the orange-haired boy's comment, "**WHAT!? I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING!!!**"

            The Cat blinked in surprise as his thoughts raced back and realized that the Mouse, had indeed, refrained from spouting his usual holier-than-thou morality comments. In fact, the other boy had done absolutely nothing to drag him into the current argument. All these time, he was so used to Yuki being the first to make fun of his dirty laundry that his brain was starting to freeze with the shock at the turn around that the dirty laundry being aired for all to see belonged to the normally pristine and perfect prince… hey… wait a minute… 

Cat-like ears sprang out of orange-haired boy's head in indignation, "**HOW DARE YOU DREAM ABOUT TOORU IN THAT WAY, YOU PERVERT!!!**"

"Ara? What happened to 'Everybody has dreams like that', ne, Kyo?" Momiji asked mischievously

"**SHUT UP YOU LITTLE IMP!**" The Cat glowered at the Rabbit before turning his attention back to the Mouse, "All this time, I was making sure to protect her from whatever perverted plot Shigure and that Ayame-person is planning to save you from this stupid seven-day curse. **NOW I FIND OUT THAT YOU'RE JUST AS PERVERTED AS THAT BROTHER OF YOURS!!!**"

Yuki's jaw dropped, as his face started to flush again, this time caused by the pure rage bubbling inside his chest, "**WHAT DO YOU KNOW, YOU STUPID CAT! DON'T PAINT ME WITH THE SAME COLOURS YOU'RE WEARING!!!**"

"**THE HELL!!! BRING IT ON, YOU DAMNED MOUSE!!! LET'S FINISH THIS RIGHT NO-----**"The cat raised his clenched fists and fell into a fighting stance, but not before Haru's open palm smacked him hard at the back of his head. The orange-head immediately squatted down to his heels and nursed his injury "---**OOOOW! THE HELL!!! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR, YOU FAT COW!!!**"

"Bad form Kyou, you know that Yuki is not in any condition to fight. If you're really itching for a battle…" Haru began in a low and dangerous tone, as he flipped his middle finger, "**…I'LL TAKE YOU ON!!!**"

Yuki scowled before burying his face into his good hand as he sensed that familiar annoying dark aura emitting from his younger cousin, "I really don't want to deal with this right now…"

Black Haru immediately turned to Yuki and roughly lifted the older boy's chin and forced his cousin's delicate face close to his own, "Don't worry Yuki, as soon as this is over, you won't have to worry about dreaming. I'll make those dreams a reality."

"Du miene Güte…" Momiji mumbled nervously as a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead

"Idiots!" The Mouse spat coldly as he immediately wrenched himself away from the younger boy's grip 

The rabbit looked at his cousin in surprise. It wasn't a reaction any different from the past when Haru turned black and behaved this way. But somehow, there was something in his older cousin's voice… something in the way his older cousin's eyes narrowed into angry gray slits… that caused the silent alarm in his head to ring sharply, "Yuki?"

 "All of you are complete idiots!" Yuki's angry voice rasped quietly as he spun around on his heels to leave them behind

 "Yuki…" Momiji called out after him, concern lacing his voice 

The older boy showed no indication of even hearing him, neither turning around, nor slowing down his pace

The rabbit shot the cat and the ox a look, before running after the retreating Mouse, "Yuki, wait!" 

The rabbit felt his heart beating wildly. He had a feeling that something very bad is going to happen if he didn't manage to keep up and stay with Yuki, just as he promised to Tooru. He could hear Haru and Kyou's still arguing loudly behind him… He let out a sigh. At least they were following… It was just a joke. He had witnessed Yuki's rare, volatile but icy outbursts in the past. But somehow, there was something oddly different on how Yuki's reacted today. The rabbit was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that the Mouse stopped in walking until he crashed onto his cousin's back. 

"Itte!" Momiji whined, rubbing his nose as he stepped away to see what caused his older cousin to freeze on his tracks. A near distance from the path to Shigure's house, was parked a dark sedan.

"Ha? Why is Hatori's car here?" Kyou wondered out loud before anybody could utter

"I guess he came on his own…After all, Harii has been coming over pretty much everyday since…" The rabbit's voice trailed as he gave the Mouse an uncertain look

"…since this whole stupid mess began," Yuki finished for him in a quiet whisper. The Mouse bowed his head, hiding his eyes behind his bangs as he clenched his fists on his sides. "I'm sick of this… why is everyone doing this to me… why won't people just leave it alone…" 

"Yuki…" The rabbit began worriedly as he leaned toward his older cousin. 

Only to find the mouse continuing to stand where he is, unmoving… his lips moved silently, as if having some kind of internal conversation within himself. 

"Yuki?" Momiji tugged on the older boy's sleeve to get his attention

"Yes…" Yuki mumbled almost inaudibly as he raised his chin, a small smile touching his lips,"…that IS a good idea."

"Yuki? What are you talking about?" Momiji asked, feeling a little alarmed as his cousin briskly walked away and moved towards the Souma Family doctor's car, "Yuki? What's a good idea?"

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing, you damned mouse?" Kyou called out apprehensively as the Mouse opened the unlocked driver's seat door and slipped inside. Kyou nervously turned to the younger boy beside him, "He's not doing what I think he's doing, is he?"

"Heh," was all the Cow said in reply, an amused smirk lining his face, as he himself scrambled to the passenger seat 

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?!?!?!!**" The orange-haired boy yelled in bewilderment

"Trying to prove a point," Yuki finally calmly replied as he moved his fingers through the folds and crevices of the car's consoles, "Haru, check the dash… Niisan lost Hatori's keys once, so Hatori always keeps a spare somewhere…"

"**NO! NO! NO!** You can't do this!" Kyou yelped, almost pleadingly, as he stepped as close to the car as he dared, "What is wrong with you? This is **HATORI'S CAR**!"

"I don't see anything here," Haru answered

"Well, then, without a key it won't work," Kyou reasoned, feeling a little relieved, "So why don't you two just step out quietly and no one will even have to know…"

Without another word, the Mouse gave the steering wheel a sharp jerk. Kyou's eyes widened in shock as a quick sickening crack of the steering wheel lock breaking boomed in his ears. The Cat scanned their surroundings, half-wishing for Shigure or Hatori to come out and catch them… but the empty wooded path was the only thing that greeted him. He turned back to his cousins only to find the Mouse bending over gutted wires he pulled from the ignition key base.

"**WHAT THE--- WHERE DID YOU--- HOW---!?!?**" The Cat sputtered incoherently as he pointed at the sight before him in disbelief

The Mouse didn't reply, he simply turned away from the orange-haired boy dismissively as he bent down to inspect the wires in his hands. 

"Look, even if you survive this, **HATORI WILL KILL YOU**!!" Kyou finally stepped forward and glared at the Mouse as he leaned through the open passenger door window

"Heh. Just admit it," Haru scoffed, as he whispered softly to the cat's ear, "You're writhing in envy, because Yuki is even better as a delinquent than you."

"**NA!?!**" The Cat shrank back and glared at his younger cousin. He stepped backward and folded his arms over his chest, "**FINE! ** Be an idiot. Go get yourself killed. I don't care. I don't want anything to do with this. Come on, Momiji, let's leave before we catch this idiot's disease."

The sound of a car door slamming shut was the only reply to his command. Kyou turned around and bristled at the sight of the rabbit buckling himself to the back seat of the car.

"**HAVE ALL OF YOU GONE INSANE!?!?!?**" Kyou yelled incredulously, now frantically pointing a finger at the blonde boy at the back seat, "**I WOULD THINK THAT YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, WOULD HAVE ENOUGH SENSE AND GO GET HATORI OR SOMETHING!!!**"

"Yuki is still Yuki," Momiji explained calmly, "As long as Haru and I are sitting as passengers, I know Yuki won't do anything that would put us in any danger."

Kyou stared at the younger boy as if a second head sprouted on his younger cousin's neck, "What kind of an idiotic reasoning is that? Didn't you hear what I said earlier? **If Hatori finds out… ****HATORI.**** WILL. ****KILL.**** YOU.**" 

"Besides, we promised To-ru," Momji continued, ignoring the cat and giving him a sweet smile, "We need to stay with Yuki until he's safely home or To-ru will worry."

The orange-haired boy opened his mouth in rebuttal, but closed it immediately upon realizing that he was unable to think of a counter against that ultimate reasoning. So he simply gave the blonde boy another glare just as Hatori's car roared into life. After a loud groan of defeat, the last door opened and slammed shut, with a reluctant cat scowling on the back seat sitting beside an excited, squealing bunny.

"This is serious, you know. If you get caught, the police don't go lightly on stealing cars. And you don't even have a driver's license yet!" Kyou put a restraining hand on his younger cousin's head to stop his infernal bouncing, as he glowered at the Mouse through the rear-view mirror, "Not to mention that **Hatori will kill you**."

"Who said anything about getting caught?" The Mouse replied blandly, "You don't need a license to know how to drive a car."

Momiji's eyes widened as he leaned forward from his seat, "Heeeh? Yuki knows how to drive a car? How?"  
  


A small smile touched the older boy's lips, as he shifted the gear to drive, "There was an Initial D marathon last month. 

Haru blinked. A bead of sweat appeared on Momiji's forehead. And Kyou automatically reached to open the door, only to find the mechanism unresponsive. 

"**WHAT THE---**" The cat stared at the door in surprise

"I think the child lock is engaged," Momiji explained nervously

"**WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HATORI!?!? HE LEAVES HIS CAR UNLOCKED BUT KEEPS THE CHILD LOCK ON!?!?!**" Kyou bristled visibly at the revelation, he took a deep calming breath before leaning forward to grab the driver's headrest, "Look… you know better than this. Let's just forget the whole thing and let's go home…"

"Roll down the window and open the door from outside," Yuki replied blandly

"**DAMN IT!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DRIVE!!!**" Kyou screamed as the Rabbit immediately lunged forward for the Cat's hands to prevent the older boy from clawing the indifferent Mouse.

"It's so simple," Yuki retorted dismissively, "You step on the right pedal to move, the middle pedal to brake, and the left pedal to shift gears…"

"Yuki…" Haru began, finally reverting back to white mode, "…this car has automatic transmission…" 

The Mouse turned to the Cow, and blinked, as if waking up from a deep sleep, "There's a difference?"

Haru nodded solemnly.

"Can you still drift with it?" The gray-haired boy asked curiously

"The transmission will probably get shot, but you can, if you go fast enough on a hairpin curve…" The younger boy explained

"Good," The mouse grinned evilly as he gunned the accelerator.

The sound of screaming overpowered the loud screeching of tires…

***@@@***

            "When I heard those boys' names and saw that boy's face, somehow… I don't feel at all surprised that they're related to you… most specially to the one with the white hair…" A middle-aged sighed tiredly as he tipped his navy blue cap uniform away from his face, to glare at a very apologetic-looking Shigure, "It seemed like yesterday when I was hauling YOU THREE home from a stunt like this… I even strongly suggested for THAT ONE, NOT to be even allowed 10 feet near a car…"

            "Heh… heh… well… boys will be boys…" Shigure laughed lamely, "So about the charges… maybe you can be easy on them. Specially Yuki… he's been going through a lot of stress lately."

            "Driving without a license is a serious offense," The traffic enforcer eyed the writer warily, "Besides… the one with the orange hair. I've already had several run-in with him before as well."

            "But Officer Tanaka, Kyou and the two others are just innocent bystanders, trying to watch out for their cousin in this case…" Shigure said smoothly, "Yuki, as you checked from his record, is normally a model student. There are just some stressful circumstances happening right now…"

            "Such as?" The older man raised an eyebrow

            "You know how it was like being a teen-ager and being in high school… Ah… your youngest daughter Natsumi, she will be graduating high school this year, right?" Shigure bowed his head solemnly, "Yuki is actually in a middle of a crisis right now. On top of that… he has this… uhm… terrible… life-threatening… illness…"

            "I see…" The police officer continued to look unconvinced

"Come now… you've known our family for so long…"

            "Too long…"

            Shigure sighed, "I apologize on behalf of my cousins. I'll ensure that they will be properly reprimanded for their actions. Ah, by the way… isn't there that community fundraiser that your division is heading for that children's safety and literacy program. Perhaps you would like my publishing company to donate some books or maybe even help publicize the event?" 

            "Since it seems that the only damage done was scaring the wits out of the passengers… and some stray cats… and I caught them before they managed to cause any property damage or got in the main roads… and if Souma-sensei doesn't press charges…"

            "Hatori won't press charges," The writer replied automatically, "He'll prefer to punish them, himself."

The older man made an involuntary wince at the younger man's words, "Very well then. Since the young offender has no past records, I can let this slide as a warning…"

"Thank you very much, Officer Tanaka," Shigure said gratefully

"BUT," The policeman intoned firmly, "I better not catch that boy on a driver's seat EVER again!"

"Hai," The writer smiled cheerfully as he waved to the departing traffic enforcer. 

Only when the police officer was out of sight, the man dared to breathe a sigh of relief. That was totally unexpected. It's only been four days… he didn't expect Yuki to snap that quickly. Though he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of admiration. Very few people dare cross the line with Hatori. The doctor hasn't spoken a single word since the Police arrived to deliver the young delinquents home a little over an hour ago. Knowing Hatori… he won't be in speaking terms with anyone until tomorrow afternoon. But one thing was for sure after Hatori is done with him… the young Mouse will have very little defenses left and will be sure to fold to what he and Ayame have been patiently waiting and planning for. After all, their little flower was sure to be more than willing to cooperate… 

An impish grin slowly made its way on the dog's lips.

Yes… things were just starting to get thoroughly interesting.

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

            This has got to be the longest chapter so far in this fic! I just wanted to point out some stuff. The German babble Momiji spouted are just little simple terms. I believe "Unglaublich" means something like "Unbelievable!" "Du miene Güte" is something like "Oh my goodness!" or "Oh my God!"

            I wanted to poke fun on the reason to why Hatori didn't like the idea of Ayame driving… that, and I think "Initial D" rocks! ^_^.

            Again, please feel free to let me know of any grammatical errors you catch. And thank you for continuing to read and review this fic! ^_^.

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	6. Day the Fifth

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. _Earlier chapters of this fic are available in Fanfiction.net and Mediaminer.org

April 4, 2003

**_Seven Days : Day the Fifth_**

By Ina-chan

            The tension in the room was heavy. The writer held his breath as he waited for the storm happening around him to pass. He eyed one particular pair of legs warily, neatly folded in the near distance. He braced himself in anticipated, just in case the owner decided to swing a foot out at his direction at the wrong moment. Ah… when he chose to live the life of a writer, he didn't expect that his life in the real world would just be as dramatic and be as life threatening just like in the world of his imagination.

            "You can come out now, Gure-san," A low voice rang in amusement, "Your editor has gone wandered off to the yard."

            "Coward," A second voice muttered as the writer's head popped out from under the low table

            "Haaaa…. How courageous of you to say such a thing, when a certain someone is playing hooky from school…" Shigure teased playfully as he wiggled out from where he was hiding to take his place around the low table in the sitting room where his two cousins were seated around

            The mouse grit his teeth patiently, "And whose fault do you think it is that the school won't let me come?"

            "Now, now, Yuki," Ayame tsked as he non-chalantly shrugged his shoulders, "You put yourself in this position when you went out of control like that. I think it was wise of Tori-san to keep you home from school at your current state of mind."

            "But **_YOU_** didn't have to tell them that I was **_ACTIVELY_** seeking **_TREATMENT_**!!!" The boy flushed visibly as he glared angrily at the two older men in room

            Shigure grinned, "Well, if you weren't so stubborn and just took your medicine like a real man, we wouldn't have had to resort to that form of insurance to keep you from sneaking out to go to school."

            "Oh God…" Yuki buried his head into his arms, "I'd rather die than show my face in school again…"

            "Well then, let me give you some brotherly advice," Ayame stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "At times like these, resistance against the stream will only cause you grief. It would be best to **_PLUNGE_** along with the direction of the flow, and use that force to help you repeatedly **_THRUST_** away your obstacles."

            "HA-HA! That's a good one, A-ya!" Shigure commented gleefully

            The younger man lifted his head and rubbed the painful throbbing on his left temple, "Being stuck here with you two is only giving me a headache."

            "Eh!? **_A headache!?!?!_** This is an emergency!" Tooru suddenly exclaimed as she set the tray of hot tea she was carrying onto the table. She instantly knelt down beside the gray-haired boy worriedly, "Is Yuki-kun alright? Do you want some ice? Is there anything I can do?"

            "Ah! There is one thing you can do, Tooru-kun…" Shigure quipped impishly

            "Shut up!" Yuki glared at the dog angrily before turning back to the worried girl in front of him, "I'm fine Honda-san."

            "Are you sure you don't want anything?" The girl asked, still unconvinced

            "Yes," The boy insisted with a warm reassuring smile

            "Alright then…" Tooru replied half-heartedly, before breaking into a smile of her own," Ah! I brought back something nice from a shop that Uo-chan, Hana-chan and I went to after school. I'm sure it'll cheer everyone up."

            "Ah, such a sweet girl, that Tooru-kun…" Shigure sighed dramatically as the girl left the room, "You're really a fool… the brass ring is right over your nose, but you still refuse to grab it…"

            "**_Shut up!_**" Yuki growled in a low voice, his eyes making an involuntary glance at the direction where the girl disappeared to, making sure she was beyond earshot from the garbage the dog was spouting

            "You know, Yuki-kun…" Shigure continued, naughtily, "Curse or no curse… if you don't use it regularly, it'll to fall off and you might as well die."

"**_SHUT UP!!!_**" Yuki finally snarled harshly

"Yare, yare…enough of this nonsense," Ayame sighed as he started to take the steaming yunomi from the tray that the girl left and set one of each in front of them, "Otherwise, if Tooru-kun comes back and sees Yuki all upset, she'll simply worry more."

The dog and the mouse stopped and turned to the snake, speechless and surprised at the silver-haired man's unusual words.

"Come now," Ayame continued happily, ignoring the expressions on the other men's faces as he lifted the cup of tea in the air, "Why don't we enjoy the tea that Tooru-kun has so lovingly prepared for all of us?" 

Silence fell into the room as the writer and the boy blinked at the other man, who was making a very good imitation of a model posing for a tea commercial. 

            "But…" Shigure began again, trying to regain his bearings as he turned back to the mouse, "You should really stop lying to yourself like that, Yuki-kun. Haven't you heard about what happened in that story about the boy who cried wolf?"

            "You're the one to talk," The Mouse gave the Dog an unfazed bland look, "It's obvious that you haven't heard about the story about the girl who got away with murder."

            Shigure blinked before turning to the silver-haired man beside him. Ayame simply stared back at him blankly, still stuck on his tea commercial pose. The writer turned back to the boy and gave him a look, daring him to continue, "Very well then, carry on. What is this so called story?"

            "This story happened many years ago at this bakery in the Shibuya district. That shop was infamous for baking the most delicious almond cakes. Everyone even claimed that they were to die for," Yuki began

            "A father and daughter owned that business, and they lived in a small apartment upstairs. The girl's mother died when she was young, but still, she lived happily with her father. Helping out in the store, and baking the delicious almond cakes that her father loved."

            "But that happy life came to an end when her father re-married a manipulative woman who didn't really care about anybody or anything else but her beloved dog. The girl's stepmother pretended to be a loving wife and mother in front of her husband's eyes, but as soon as his back was turned she would show her true colours to the girl. Abusing her, demeaning her, treating her no better than a servant. The girl took everything in silence, out of love for her father."

            The boy's voice lowered down to a quiet tone, as if chanting enchanted words to bring the story he was weaving to life. The two older men, listened as if spell-bound. Ayame, who has been uncharacteristically quiet all that time, seemed to be drawn to watching his little brother's fingers, which were unconsciously tracing light circles along the lip of the yunomi.

"As if things wasn't bad enough, the girl's father acquired a mysterious illness and eventually died, thus leaving her with the abusive stepmother. But with his last breath, he made his daughter promise to always be kind to her stepmother. She never forgot that moment. The sight of her gaunt and weak father, the painful taste of grief, the smell of bitter almonds…" Yuki continued, "Afterwards, she suffered silently. To make things worse, her stepmother's dog also started to get sick and she was being blamed for it. One day, while her stepmother was away, the dog died from its illness."

"Perhaps it was out of her fear, perhaps it was out of temporary madness, perhaps it was some her deep-sated anger awakened," The pace of the boy's voice build up its tempo, as he lifted his eyes and made an extra effort to emphasize his words, specifically directing his gaze to the writer, "She took the little dog's body, chopped it to little pieces, and made it into a stew. It smelled delicious, the distinctive smell of almonds that the shop was known for, delicately wafting from it."

The writer raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Though his face didn't betray his thoughts, inside he could feel his heart pounding nervously as he blandly stared back the malevolent gray eyes in front of him. Right then, those eyes were absolutely identical to another pair that he was familiar with… but still, he refused to be the one to break the eye contact with the younger man.

            "Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you see it, her stepmother came home that day, drunk," Yuki continued again, accepting the older man's challenge, "The girl was relieved. At least her punishment would be postponed. But before she could get rid of the stew she impulsively created, her stepmother found it and the gluttonous woman… ATE. IT. ALL."

            "That was… interesting," Shigure commented bravely, but still visibly paling down two shades of colour

            "GAAAAH! I can't believe my sweet little brother would actually come up with a disgusting story like that!" Ayame gagged and theatrically made a show of holding the yunomi in his hand, "Come now, a nice cup of tea full of Tooru-kun's love is sure to wash all the bad feelings away."

            The boy made a self-satisfied smirk at the older men's reaction as he lifted the cup of tea in his hand and lazily rested his cheek against it, "Ah, but my story isn't even over yet."

            The two older men instinctively froze at the boy's words.

            "The next day," Yuki drawled as he idly played with the porcelain cup in his hands, "The stepmother was found dead for cyanide poisoning. The police arrested the girl for murder. But upon further investigation they discovered a shocking secret."

            He paused and leaned forward for dramatic effect, "It turned out, that the stepmother was secretly sprinkling small amounts of cyanide in the share of almond cakes that her deceased husband ate everyday. As soon as he died, she started doing the same for her stepdaughter. But because the girl couldn't get herself to eat the sweets that her father loved after he died… she was actually secretly feeding to the little dog."

            Deafening silence hung heavily in the room, as the boy paused once again, stealthily watching the reactions of the older men sitting before him.

            "They said that bakery in Shibuya is still there," The mouse smiled, "And it still bakes the most delicious almond cakes that were to die for."

"Well," Ayame said hoarsely as he lifted the cup to a toast, "That definitely deserves a cup of tea!"

The boy instinctively raised the cup to his lips at the suggestion.

"AH! This is wonderful!" Tooru burst back into the room cheerfully, a tray of goodies at hand, "It seems that everyone is having fun! What were you doing?"

Yuki put the cup down on the table and folded his hands neatly, once again, automatically switching his facial expression to flash her one of his warm _'Prince Yuki'_ smiles, "Nothing really important."

 "Ah… Well…" The girl flushed as she nervously, before setting down the second tray on the table excitedly, "Here. Uo-chan, Hana-chan and I bought these from a bakery in Shibuya earlier."

The two older men gawked in shock at the treats the girl set in front of them.

"We were lucky to get the last box! This almond cake is so popular from that bakery," Tooru explained as she served each gentleman around the table apiece, "They said that it was to die for!"

Shigure covered his mouth as he choked, while Ayame simply let out an uncharacteristic nervous laugh as beads of sweat dropped from his forehead. 

The girl blinked, puzzled at the older men's strange reactions, "Shigure-san? Ayame-san? Is there something wrong?"

"INothing, nothing at all!" Shigure exclaimed with a forced laugh

 "Of course, I'm sure the cake is splendid! After all, Tooru-kun selected it with all her love," Ayame added cheerfully, "Saa, Yuki. Why don't we enjoy the cake together with a nice cup of tea!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure it tastes as delicious as you say…" Shigure continued on lamely

"If that's the case Shigure, why aren't you touching your share?" Yuki demanded quietly, giving the writer a long unblinking stare, a small sardonic smile lifting the corners of his lips, "It will be rude to Honda-san if you are to refuse to eat a piece with us."

"I never said that I wasn't going to…" Shigure began to reply in a low measured tone

"Hnnnnn… that wasn't the impression you were giving though. It almost seems as if you're afraid to eat it…" Yuki interrupted as he cocked his head to one side, giving the writer a wide-eyed innocent look, "What's wrong Shigure? You're afraid to eat the cake that Honda-san has thoughtfully brought back for us, aren't you?"

"I di---" Shigure began, starting to look frustrated

"Aren't you?" Yuki interrupted again leaning forward, now giving the dog an almost predatory grin

"Eh?" Tooru uttered looking absolutely bewildered as looked back and forth at the two men passive aggressively glaring at each from both sides of her.

Ayame sweatdropped again, raising his yunomi in the air, "Aaaaah, the air in here is so intense! Drinking a nice cup of tea woul---"

"SENSEEEEEEIIII!!!!" The writer's editor screamed as suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sitting beside the dog, tears flowing down her face with her hands clasped together tightly, as if in prayer, "SENSEI! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!!"

"Ah, Mit-chan! How nice of you to join us!" For the first time, the writer cried out in relief at the sight of the harried woman, "Why don't you relax for a bit and have some tea?"

"**_SENSEI! PLEASE STOP RUNNING AWAY! YOU'RE BEHIND SCHEDULE AS IT IS! PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR LAST 500 PAGES NOW!!!_**" Mit-chan cried out hysterically as she grabbed the dog by the sleeve and started tugging on the man's arm almost violently

"Hai!  Hai!" Shigure replied, letting the woman shake him, before pushing his share of cake, "It's already done, and I'll give them to you as soon as you have some cake and tea with us."

"Is that a promise?" Mit-chan sniffled suspiciously, immediately calming down at the writer's words

"Yes, yes! It's a promise," Shigure stated hurriedly as he poked the piece of cake with his fork, "Now open your mouth and say 'aaaaahn'…."

"Aaaahn…" Mit-chan said obediently, but quickly choked as Shigure literally shoved the entire piece down her throat

"Ah! Sorry, Mit-chan!" Shigure exclaimed in alarm as he quickly grabbed his cup of tea, forcing its entire contents down the woman's mouth as he whacked her repeatedly on the back

"Ano… Gure-san…" Ayame began 

"Idiot!" Yuki muttered under his breath 

"Eh?!" Tooru said again, shocked and confused at what was happening before her

"**_SENSEI!!!_**" Mit-chan gasped when she managed to free herself from the man's ministrations, and once again burst out into a flood of tears, "**_DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME?!?_**"

"Saaa, saaa…" Shigure said reassuringly, "It was just a joke! A joke!"

"**_WHY DON'T YOU STOP JOKING AND GIVE ME YOUR LAST 500 PA--a_**aaaa…" With that, the woman seemed to have acquired the appearance of a deflating balloon as she fell back on the floor lifelessly…

Once again, silence descended onto the room as its occupants gaped in surprise at the fallen editor on the floor

"**_EEEEEEHHHH!?!?!?_**" Tooru exclaimed in super-shocked mode, hair standing at end

Ayame sweatdropped, looking away uncomfortably.

"**_OH MY GOD!!!_**" The dog yelled in horror as he turned his gaze back to the equally bewildered mouse

"**_IT WAS JUST A MADE-UP STORY!!! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!! I SWEAR!!!_**" Yuki cried back defensively, as he inched forward cautiously, "Is she dead?"

Shigure carefully poked the woman with the blunt end of his fork.

"…senseeeeiii~~~you…idiooooot…*_SCHNOOOORRR_*…" 

Both the dog and the mouse let out a collective sigh of relief, before the writer gave the boy a disapproving look, "Ara, never in my life did I imagine that you would actually sink so low and do something so careless and irresponsible"

"**_I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!_**" Yuki glared at the older man indignantly, "This is a something that **_YOU_** would do, so don't you pin this on me!"

"Wha-wha-wha-what's going on!?" Tooru stammered apprehensively, eyes still wide in super-shock mode

"Now, look at what you've done, Yuki-kun. Tooru-kun is all upset now. What kind of man would upset a woman on purpose," Shigure shook his head melodramatically, "_SHAME! SHAME! SHAME ON YOU!_"

"**_I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!_**" Yuki yelled in frustration

A loud bang echoed through the walls as a pair of hands slapped the low table to gain a semblance of order in the room. The girl, the mouse and the dog immediately froze and turned their attention to the silver haired man, who melodramatically raised a hand to rub his forehead as he let out a long sigh, "That will be enough, Gure-san. Yuki is telling the truth, he is innocent. I, as his older brother, will vouch for his honour."

"A-a-ayame-san?" Tooru uttered hesitatingly

"A-ya? What are you talking about?" Shigure asked

Yuki's eyes narrowed into small angry slits, his voice dropping into a low, bland, monotone, "It's **YOU**, isn't it. **YOU** did something."

The snake grabbed his younger brother's hands into his own, giving the younger man a pleading look, "But I did it out of love, my dear sweet little brother! Please understand that I can't stand idly by, watching you get sick needlessly. Out of the strength of our brotherly love, I did it all for you!"

"A-ya…" Shigure began uncertainly, "…don't tell me that you actually knew about that story and somehow put something in the cake…"

"Non, non, non!" Ayame shook his head, silver tresses flying in the air, "I did no such thing."

"Honda-san, did my brother offer to do something in the kitchen when you were preparing the snacks?" Yuki asked in a measured tone, trying to control the anger in his voice

"Ha?" The girl blinked as she snapped out from her stunned state, "Ano… Ayame-san insisted on making Yuki-kun's tea…"

"HA-HA-HA-HA~~~!" Ayame laughed gaily as he pulled out a small can out of nowhere, and held it in the air with the expert prowess of a TV commercial model, "Ayame Tea Special Blend Part 2! An exquisite blend sure to bring a deep relaxing sleep… and even have dreams of indescribable pleasure… leaving you feeling refreshed and energetic the next day!"

"Ah, a new A-ya tea blend creation," Shigure smiled mischievously, instinctively joining in at the other man's pace "Is that a guarantee about the dreams?"

"**_SENSEIII!!! STOP TORTURING MEEEE!!!_**" Mit-chan suddenly sat up, crying miserably in her sleep, before falling back down on the floor with a loud snore

Ayame glanced at the woman for a moment, with a large sweatdrop hanging over his head, before quickly recovering to face his cousin in his usual suave manner. No expense spared for the glittery and flowery special effects, "As long as you dream about me, Gure-san."

"Then I'll see you in my dreams tonight, A-ya!" Shigure replied in the same manner

"**_YOSH!_**"

"Haaa…" Tooru mumbled again with a nervous smile

"Idiots," Yuki muttered under his breath again, turning his head away in disgust.

"But Yuki-kun, I am very impressed," Shigure stated, his voice taking a more serious tone, "How you managed to switch your tea cup with mine without me noticing."

The mouse instantly turned back to glare indignantly at the dog, "**_I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!_**"

"Ah… well… Originally, I was preparing a special separate cup for Yuki. But knowing how smart my sweet little brother is, I figured that something like this could happen. That's why I dumped the whole pot and made my Special Tea Blend for everyone!" Ayame interjected before anyone else can say more, his face turning solemn as he clasped his hands together, but still looking rather pleased with himself, "Isn't that a great idea?"

"**_EEEEH!?_**" Tooru cried out, once again going to super-shocked mode as the other conscious occupants of the room looked down at their respective yunomi with dotted eyes.

Shigure smiled pleasantly at his best friend, despite the visible vein throbbing angrily on his forehead, "Anoo… A-ya…Are you sure all that hair care isn't doing anything to weigh down your brain?"

Ayame shook his head in a huff, dramatically spraying the beautiful silver strands in the air, "Non! Non! Non! Hair as glorious as this can only be a symbol of my mental virility! How can Gure-san doubt the evidence of his own eyes?"

A peal of silvery laughter suddenly rang in the air. The occupants of the room turned to the source in astonishment, as the found the mouse hunched over the table, eyes hidden under his bangs, shoulders trembling, as he continued to giggle uncontrollably, "You were going to poison me. You're all out to get me, aren't you? You're all crazy." 

"Yu-yuki-kun?" Tooru stammered as she reached out to touch the boy's shoulder uncertainly

"**_WATCH OUT!!!_**" Shigure immediately reached over and instinctively pulled the girl out of harms way anticipating the boy's explosive reaction to her movement.

The boy shrank away, half stumbling to get on his feet to get as far away a distance as possible, as he brandished a spoon in front of him defensively like a weapon. The writer frowned once again, the rare serious expression dominated his face as he instantly recognized the wild-eyed look in the boy's face that he is all too familiar with, seeing it from the person who shared the mouse's identical expressive gray eyes. 

Even Ayame watched in frozen caution as the boy inched away backwards, eyeing all of them suspiciously, the spoon glinting dangerously in his hand, until he reached the hallway. From there, the mouse spun on his heels and disappeared in the corridor. The remaining occupants of the room didn't even dare take a breath until the boy's hasty footsteps finally ended with the loud slam of a door.

"Ooops…" The snake whispered, strangely speechless, as he turned to the dog with a small secret grin

 The dog returned his cousin's expression in kind. Yuki was just so predictable. He's pretty much through the motions of their plan as if the mouse, himself, read the script and acting out a part of their elaborate production.

"Shi-shi-shigure-san? Wh-wh-what…?" Tooru stuttered, trembling and frightened beyond words

Shigure let out a sigh as he patted the girl's head in silent reassurance. Even so… the situation was certainly starting to become a bit too serious for some members of the supporting cast to handle. He glanced at the silver-haired man and noted the uncommon pensive expression on his best friends' face, instantly knowing that the other man was silently thinking the same way. They had to put the rest of their plan into action as soon as possible.

"…sensei… there's not much time…" The editor said softly as she curled up into a more comfortable position in her sleep

"Hai, hai," Shigure agreed cheerfully. 

After all, there were only two days left…

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

            Again this chapter would not be possible without the guidance of the muse, Merrow-chan! ^_^. The Ayame line about the hair is actually hers!  ^_^. Can you believe it? It's almost done! ^_^.

            Anywayz… this chapter ended up longer than I thought. So, in case anyone was wondering what happened to Kyou and the others… well, in the original outline, they were supposed to be around the table too. But it was way too many characters to juggle. And Yuki would probably really snap like a rubber band if Shigure and Haru did a double team on him re: teasing him with Tooru. Heh-heh… and not to mention Kyou's volatile reaction! Besides, with what happened earlier, Haru and Momiji got grounded in the main house, and Kyou ran off to Kazuma's dojo for some respite from the insanity in Shigure's for a few hours. Besides, he'll need all his wits to make sure Tooru is protected from Shigure and Ayame's diabolical plan… ^_^. Anywayz… I decided to give Hatori a break too, he's been coming over to Shigure's house almost everyday…

Also, I decided to go to another insanity break on the next chapter… I plan it to be a little more serious, since I wanted to do a serious waffy scene between Yuki and Ayame. Until then, I'm rotating my fics… I'm probably going to try to write a chapter of "Fumei" first… since I'm craving for some angst! Then the second chapter of "Unseen" (which is going to be in Ayame's perspective) so it'll prepare me for the Yuki-Ayame scene on the 5th Day…

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	7. Day the Sixth

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. _Earlier chapters of this fic are available in Fanfiction.net and Mediaminer.org

August 16, 2003

**_Seven Days : Day the Sixth_**

By Ina-chan

_"Damned Mouse! Stop acting childish and just let go!"_

_"'Childish'? **CHILDISH!?!?**"_

_"ITTAI!! Kyon…-itte…don't encourage him…"_

_"Che… serves **YOU** right for being such a stubborn ass."_

It's funny isn't it?  How things you desperately try to avoid become self-fulfilling prophecies…

_"sigh Yuki, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."_

_"When I get free, I'm going to kill you."_

_"Booo! That's not the correct answer Yuki-kun~~~!"_

_ **"I'M GOING TO MURDER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!!!"**_

How the kindest and gentlest of hearts can be hardened and corrupted…

_"Hard way it is then. sigh Kyou, pull down his pants."_

**_"NA?!!! THE HELL!!! NO WAY!!!"_**

****

**_"ITTAI!!! STUPID KYONKICHI!!! DON'T LET GO OF HIM!!!"_**

****

**_"WHO ARE YOU CALLING STUPID?!?!?!!! DAMMIT!!!!!!"_**__

How the purest and noblest of intentions can be twisted and warped…

**_"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!!!!"_**

_"But Yuki-kun, all of us ARE touching you~~~"_

**_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"_**

****

**_"SHIGURE!!!  DON'T MAKE THINGS WORSE!!!"_******

"Can you please hurry it up?" 

…to yield such volatile and dangerous results… 

**_"YOU'RE DEAD SHIGURE!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FIRST!!! I'M GOING TO---"_**

****

**_"DAMN IT!!! HOLD HIM STILL!!!"_**__

"That's… easier said… than done… Ha-san…" 

…on the cursed sixth day.

**_"FORGET THE DAMNED TRANQUILIZER!!! JUST WHACK HIS HEAD WITH A BLUNT OBJECT!!!"_**

****

Perhaps it would be best if we started right from the beginning… 

The sixth day began with a tentative knock on a door. A tall silver-haired young man dangled a plastic bag under one arm before pressing his ear against the door, hopefully listening to whatever response the occupant of the room. He let out a defeated sigh when his knock simply met a silent reply. He's not going to let anyone inside willingly. So step one...

"Yuki," He called out, in an unusually serious tone, "Come on and open the door. You've been there since yesterday afternoon. You haven't had anything to eat or drink since then."

More silence. 

Obviously food bribe tactic is not going to work. Step two...

"Yuki," He called out again, "Please open the door."

Still silence. 

Begging tactic is not going to cut it either... Step three...

"Yuki, Tori-san is downstairs," Ayame continued on, "If you don't open the door now, he'll come up for you."

Continuing silence.

The elder Souma scratched his chin thoughtfully. He was sure that the Hatori scare tactic would work. If there was one thing that Yuki hated almost as much as being scrutinized by Akito, it was to endure Hatori with his poking at him with a stick. The snake let out another sigh. There's no helping it. It seemed like there was no other choice but to use step four.

Without another word, he dug into his pockets, fished out the keys he borrowed from Shigure, and unlocked the door. 

"Yuki~~~!" Ayame called out with a big smile as he opened his brother's door. 

Almost immediately, an icy aura, like a gust of freezing wind... behaving not too different from the sudden rush of depressurized air from a punctured air craft cabin at 10,000 feet... rushed through the open door to wash over the unsuspecting person opening it. Nonetheless, the silver haired man's smile didn't falter... even though the chill running down his spine made it feel like something just walked over his grave.

"Yuki?" He called out again, and blinked, looking a little confused as the vision of the room before him finally registered in his senses.  The older man couldn't prevent a line from furrowing on his forehead. 

It was a familiar sight that he wasn't too pleased to see again. The blinds were closed and all the lights were turned off, giving the room an eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere. It was a sick ironic situation. He squinted his eyes in the dim light, trying to distinguish his younger brother's form from the shadows in the room in vain.

 "I'm turning on the light," Ayame announced before flipping on the switch. 

There were several squeaks of surprise and the sound of several tiny scampering feet pattered around the room as the light suddenly flooded the darkened area. The line on his forehead deepened as he realized that his brother was nowhere to be seen, despite the obvious presence of his little brother's "friends" inside the room. 

"Yuki?" Ayame called out again uncertainly, as he started to take a step forward

"Stop where you are," A soft voice suddenly commanded firmly from behind him

The elder Souma almost stumbled forward, but managed to regain his balance in time. He turned towards the source of the voice,  found his brother sitting behind the door... at the darkened corner of the room, hugging his knees and glaring at him angrily.

"You're going to step on Aunt Keiko's house," The mouse simply stated blandly 

The older man looked at the spot at where his foot was supposed to be a few moments before, and gaped in amazement at what he found. There stood a detailed, matchbox-scale version of their relative's house made entirely of toothpicks neatly glued together... In fact, the floor was littered with precise tiny replicas of most of the structures inside the Main House compound. There were even several odd-shaped tiny white... things... on random spots between the buildings. Unable to contain his curiosity, the snake bent down to pick up a white piece on the floor to inspect it closely.

"Ara..." Ayame gasped in astonishment as he realized what it was. It was a detailed sculpture of a human figure. And if you squint at a certain angle... it somewhat suspiciously looks a little bit like Akito... carved on something that suspiciously looks like what used to be a Tylenol # 3 tablet, "You made this?"

The younger Souma simply continued glaring at his older brother.

"How...? Well, the tablets obviously came from Hatori...  But where did you...?Ah, with all the toothpicks lying around, and a lot of patience. It won't be that hard. Besides, it is Yuki we're talking about. But you never left your room..." Ayame blurted his internal dialogue aloud, just as a small mouse ran through the crevice of the half-open door and quickly skittered over his feet. It then proudly presented the boxed offering it held in its mouth to feet of the seated figure at the corner of the room. 

"Haaa-san~~~" Shigure's voice sang loudly from kitchen downstairs, as if on cue, "Have you seen the toothpicks? I could have sworn that Tooru-kun bought several boxes from that sale last week."

"How should I know?" came Hatori's irritated reply

"Ah well... it certainly is very creative. What else can you expect from a brother of mine..." Beads of sweat popped from Ayame's forehead as he forced another smile on his lips, that quickly vanished upon realization hit him, "...but Yuki... Did you stay up all night making all of these?"

The mouse's eyes flashed dangerously at his elder brother's comment, the little mouse at his feet suddenly squeaked in surprise and almost flew out of the room from where it came from. Larger beads of sweat started to pour out of the snake's brow. And for the rarest moments in his life, Souma Ayame actually started to feel genuinely nervous. 

He made a small cough before rubbing his chin in exaggerated self-thoughtfulness, "As your caring older brother, I just feel that Yuki should have gotten some sleep instead."

"Yuki should have gotten some sleep instead," The younger Souma echoed sarcastically

"We're just concerned of your well being," The snake stated in a serious tone, noting that there was no way 

"We're just concerned of your well being," The mouse continued in his sardonic tone as he slowly got on his feet

"Yuki..." Ayame's eyes widened in alarm, consciously maneuvering over the little toothpick sculptures on the floor as he tried to move out of his brother's way as the younger Souma started to step toward him, "We just want to help you."

"We just want to help you?" Yuki repeated mockingly, his eyes narrowing into slits as he started move around the room, as if a predator slowly circling around its helpless prey

Ayame closed his eyes, rubbing his temple as if trying to ward off an impending headache, "This isn't funny. Yuki don't---" 

**"YUKI DON'T!"** The mouse suddenly exploded angrily, causing his elder brother to open his eyes and gape at him in shock

**"YUKI, DON'T DO THAT! OR HONDA-SAN WILL WORRY!" **The boy yelled, emphasizing his fury by crushing a mini-house by his foot, before the elder Souma could utter a single word in reaction. In fact, Ayame could only watch in fascination as his brother started to walk around the room, stomping his little houses into splinters and his tiny figurines into dust... possessed by his uncontrollable rage. It was like watching a bad Godzilla parody.

 **"YUKI, DON'T DO THIS, OR AKITO WILL GET MAD!!! **_[smash]_** YUKI DON'T SAY THAT, OR YOU'LL EMBARRASS 'KA-SAN!!!  **_[crash] _**YUKI, DON'T MAKE A MISTAKE OR YOU'LL SHAME THE FAMILY NAME!!! **_[crush] _**YUKI DON'T GO OUT AND PLAY OR YOU'LL DIE!!! **_[smash] [crash] [crush] _**YUKI DON'T!!! **_[smash] _**DON'T!!! **_[crash] _**DON'T!!! **_[crush]_**"**

The snake blinked at the scene before him, another look of realization dawning on his face as he watched his younger brother stop to catch his breath, spent from the exertion from his anger. He was aware of the enormous pressure his younger brother had been going through since childhood, but he never understood exactly how intense the mouse's true feeling were until he witnessed his brother's uncharacteristic outburst. The restrictions they have been imposing on Yuki recently simply compounded those feelings that he has been burying deep inside that usual calm and aloof composure. 

Ayame always dreamed of the day that Yuki would open up his true feelings for him... but this raw emotion that his brother was showing... he wasn't prepared how to handle this. He wasn't sure exactly what to do other than to awkwardly stand there and watch the scene in silence. So he did the first thing that came to his mind.

"Ah! At times like these, we definitely need to slow down and relax with a nice cup of hot tea!" Ayame announced gaily as he showed the bag he was holding

Almost immediately, the temperature in the room dipped to below sub-zero degrees as the mouse's battle aura flared dangerously, "...get... out..."

"Ara! Look! Look! It's canned! I got it from a convenience store on my way here today. It's perfectly safe, see?" Ayame protested desperately, as he pulled out the can of warm tea from the bag 

"Get. Out."

"I even brought some snacks, it's also nice and sealed," The snake then pulling out a bag of packaged mochi and waved it playfully, "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday, right? Its even peach flavoured too... mmmmm!"

**"GETOUT!GETOUT!GETOUT!!!!!!"**

**"LISTEN!" **Ayame's voice suddenly boomed angrily, finally loosing his patience, **"I AM TRYING MY BEST TO HELP YOU! I CAN'T STAND SEEING YOU SUFFER LIKE THIS! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!"**

The younger man literally jumped back with a start, his turn to be surprised at his older brother's sudden outburst. 

Ayame threw the items in his hand at his brother's night table, before brushing his fingers through his bangs in frustration. He stopped and looked at his brother with pleading eyes,  as he started to talk again in a calmer voice, "What do I need to do Yuki? Tell me. Tell me what I need to do to help you."

Yuki stared at him with an unreadable expression on his face, before turning around and tiredly crawling into bed and burying himself on a fetal position underneath his covers.

"Yuki?" Ayame called out, indisputable concern lacing his voice

The boy's quiet answer was muffled underneath his blankets. The elder Souma stepped closer cautiously until he was bending over the passive bundle on his younger brother's bed, "Yuki? What did you say?"

"A-ya? Is everything all right?" Shigure called out cautiously 

The snake turned around and saw the writer peeking at them by the open doorway. Hatori standing impassively beside him... and even Kyou behind them, desperately trying to look disinterested at scene unfolding inside the room.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Don't worry Gure-san, everything is under control!" Ayame replied merrily, jutting out a confident thumbs-up at his three relatives by the door

**"GAH! WATCH OUT YOU IDIOT!!!" **Kyou suddenly yelled aloud, his eyes widening in alarm. His sentiments were also silently reflected in the expressions on his older cousins faces, standing in front of him.

Ayame turned around in time, only to see his brother sitting up in bed with the same angry glare he was wearing when Ayame first walked into the room. Only this time, the mouse was in a dangerously close reach...

"You're too noisy," The mouse simply stated 

"Oh... damn..." was all the snake could say, not even having enough time to wipe the big smile off his lips as he saw his younger brother's hand quickly reach out to...

...cling tightly on his hair.

And in an instant, all of hell broke loose.

**"#%*&@#*!@#@~#%$^%#^*@%$&#@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" **

"**DAMN!** Why is he this strong!" Shigure barked over his cousin's screaming of intelligible obscenities as the dog struggled to hold on to the mouse's other arm before it managed to inflict further damage on the snake fighting to release his brother's other hand's hold on his hair

"Why didn't you just leave him alone?" Kyou growled angrily as he dodged a foot that flew inches from his ear and tackled his cousin's legs to immobility, "Damned Mouse! Stop acting childish and just let go!"

"'Childish'?" Yuki spat out venomously, before tugging at the mane of hair he held tightly in his hand, **"CHILDISH!?!?"**

"ITTAI!!" Ayame winced as he waved his free hand to swat helplessly at the cat, "Kyon…-itte…don't encourage him…"

"Che…" Kyou scoffed as he tightened his hold on Yuki's legs, "...serves **YOU** right for being such a stubborn ass."

Hatori let out a sigh as he prepared a syringe over the struggling men, "Yuki, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"When I get free, I'm going to kill you," The mouse's eyes glared at the doctor threateningly

"Booo! That's not the correct answer Yuki-kun~~~!" Shigure commented lightly

 **"I'M GOING TO MURDER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!!!"**

""Hard way it is then," The doctor sighed again, before motioning to cat, "Kyou, pull down his pants."

**"NA?!!! THE HELL!!! NO WAY!!!" **The fire-haired boy's eyes widened in disgust as he automatically loosened his hold and jumped away to safety

**"ITTAI!!! STUPID KYONKICHI!!! DON'T LET GO OF HIM!!!" **Ayame yelped in pain as both he and Shigure struggled to compensate from loosing Kyou's support

**"WHO ARE YOU CALLING STUPID?!?!?!!!" **Kyou yelled back angrily, as he immediately lunged forward to grab his cousin's legs again upon realizing his mistake, but not before the mouse's knee managed to make direct contact with his nose, **"_DAMMIT!!!!!!"_**

**"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!!!!" **The mouse screamed as Hatori stepped in to help with the struggle

"But Yuki-kun, all of us ARE touching you~~~" The writer commented idly

**"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!"**

**"SHIGURE!!!  DON'T MAKE THINGS WORSE!!!" **Hatori yelled irritably, finally loosing his patience

**"YOU'RE DEAD SHIGURE!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FIRST!!! I'M GOING TO---" **Yuki continued to yell angrily

"Can you please hurry it up?" Ayame called out meekly, wincing involuntarily, as his brother's struggle caused another hard tug

**"DAMN IT!!! HOLD HIM STILL!!!" **Hatori shouted in frustration

"That's… easier said… than done… Ha-san…" The dog grimaced, as he felt the mouse dig his fingernails into the part of arm that the boy could reach 

**"FORGET THE DAMNED TRANQUILIZER!!! JUST WHACK HIS HEAD WITH A BLUNT OBJECT!!!" **Kyou yelled in exasperation as he watched Hatori struggle to impale the needle onto the mouse's immobile, but continuously resisting, arm.

They didn't know how they managed to do it. Five minutes later, they finally managed to free Ayame and stumble out of the room... well... more like ran out until they were on the safety of the hallway. The cat, dog and snake, pressed against the wall opposite the door leading to the mouse's room, trying to catch their breaths...

Hatori made final peek from the door before closing it behind him. He turned to the snake, unable to hide the amazement in his normally stoic face, "I'll tell you one thing... he'll definitely beat Akito hands down when it comes to stubbornness. That dose is enough to put an ox to sleep in ten seconds, but until now he's still fighting it."

"And you wanted to beat THAT in a fight?" Shigure commented idly, looking at the cat with newfound respect, "Kyou-kun is either exceptionally brave or exceptionally stupid."

**"SHUT UP!" **Kyou snapped back irritably, painfully holding the collar of his now bloodied shirt over his nose

**"KYAAAAAAA!"**

The four males followed the direction of sound of the shocked female scream and the loud crash on the floor to find Tooru, still in her school uniform and fresh from work, staring at their harried forms, while in super-shocked form, "K-k-kyou-k-k-kun... b-b-b-blood!"

Kyou swore under his breath, before trying to give the girl a reassuring look, "Geeez! It's just a nosebleed. I'm not going to die or anything."

"B-b-b-b-but..."

Hatori sighed again as he steered the cat around, and pushed him away from the panicking girl towards the privacy of the younger man's bedroom, "Let me take a look at it to make sure it's not broken."

"Saaa! He'll be fine Tooru-kun," Shigure said reassuringly as he gently took the girl's arm and maneuvered her towards the opposite direction, "Kagura put Kyou-kun in a far worse physical state than that, and he survived all of them without a hitch."

"B-b-but... K-k-..."

"Yare! Yare! Kyonkichi is a lot tougher than he looks," Ayame agreed as he took the girl's other arm and assisted his cousin into guiding her downstairs

"B-b-but I..."

"Ne, Tooru-kun, do you really want to help Yuki-kun?" Shigure interrupted with his uncharacteristic serious tone

Automatically, the girl calmed down and looked at the older man eagerly, "Is there a way for me to help?"

Ayame made an involuntary glance behind him, before giving the writer a hesitant look. Shigure simply give him subtle reassuring smile before turning back to the young woman in front of him.

"Of course, there is a way!" The dog exclaimed, "Tooru-kun is our secret weapon after all. In fact, there is one thing that only Tooru-kun can do that will be the best help! But, that's only if Tooru-kun is willing to do it, of course!"

Tooru's eyes widened at the writer's words, "I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT FOR SURE, SHIGURE-SAN! I'll do ANYTHING I can to help!"

The small smile on Shigure's face widened upon hearing her words, "I'm glad to hear that! Why don't you go and freshen up, Tooru-kun! I'll tell you our master plan for tomorrow, once you're all ready!"

"HAI!" The girl replied enthusiastically as she hurried off to her room to change her clothes 

"Gure-san..." Ayame began tentatively, his eyes darting uncomfortably between the direction of his brother's door and Tooru's room

"It'll be alright! If there's one person in the world that Yuki will yield to, it'll be Tooru-kun," Shigure whispered back, that smile never leaving his face, "Besides, it's not like we have any other choice at this point."

The snake frowned and chewed the inside of his cheek reluctantly. Of course, his cousin's reasoning made a lot of sense. After all...

... there was only one day left.

To be continued…

Author's squawk:

This was a very agonizing chapter to work on. I originally wanted to have a WAFFy, brother-bonding chapter between Yuki and Ayame... but as I wrote... I realized that there was only so much WAFFy-ness you could put if one of your characters was obviously dangerously psychotic. 

Then again, considering how difficult it has been for me to write my fics lately... the feat of finishing this chapter was actually quite... extra-ordinary! 

Thank you to everyone who has been diligently following this fic and reviewing it. I really appreciate the ego-boosts. ^_^. 

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	8. Day the Seventh

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. _Earlier chapters of this fic are available in Fanfiction.net and Mediaminer.org

September 8, 2003 **_Seven Days : Day the Seventh_**

By Ina-chan

A dainty hand rose in the air and froze just before its knuckle made a nervous rap against the wooden door. The hand flattened against the door for support as its owner hunched over, taking quick deep breaths... desperately trying hard to seize her hyperventilating.

She walked down these hallway countless times before. She stood in front of this particular door to a particular room to the point that she had memorized every nook and cranny, every floorboard and drywall space, and every curve and angle of the door and handle. If she were to walk down this hall blindfolded with a load of clothes on arm, she believed that she could move through it with confident and ease as if she were walking gracefully in an open meadow under the bright sunny rays of the morning sun.

Probably...

Maybe...

.........

Unlikely.

Reality often speaks a different frequency, as one would say. There was definitely no doubt that the chances of Honda Tooru somehow walking smack into a wall even if she was to walk through an open meadow still ranked quite high in the probability scale. The only difference this time, was for the first time in her life, she was actually starting to believe harsh reality over the rose colored view her optimistic nature usually puts in front of her. 

For the first time, standing in that hallway, in front of a particular door to a particular room... she felt all of her confidence and courage being sapped away by an inexplicable shadow of nervous fear looming behind her. Then again, if you think about it, was a very difficult task she was being asked to do. 

It wasn't everyday that a simple and innocent maiden like her was given the important task of saving the life of a prince. It was even more extraordinary that in order to save the prince's life, the innocent maiden needed to exploit the illicit art of seduction...

"I can't do this," Tooru whispered as she rested her clammy forehead against her hand

***

"You don't have to if you don't want to, Tooru-kun," came Ayame's words 

"Of course, of course! If at any time you change your mind, don't hesitate to do so!" Shigure's voice added, "Just let us know right away and we'll simply go to plan B. It's really easy to arrange these sort of things. We can easily get a replacement over the phone."

"That's true, and they are professionals after all and we can get one quickly at the last minute," Ayame agreed before making a thoughtful sigh, "But it feels rather sad that my sweet little brother will settle his first-time experience the delights of a man's romance with a cold and unfeeling ***working*** woman."

***

A large bead of sweat popped on the girl's forehead. She straightened up and shifted her tray into a more comfortable position before taking a deep intake of breath. She then glared at the door with a determined expression, "Mother always said that a person should always take responsibility for his mistakes. This whole thing is entirely my fault. So if there's any person who needs to do this... it has to be me!"

That's absolutely right!

But...

...but would Yuki want to. 

The young woman's thoughts trailed backwards as she remembered the mouse's reputation in school. Yuki was the high school prince that more than half the female population in Kaibara High School desired. Most likely, more than half of that percentage had taken a chance and proposed an intimate relationship with him. And every single one of them met the same answer...

"Thank you... but I'm sorry. I don't want to have that kind of a relationship right now."

Tooru sighed. All of those girls were definitely braver than her with expressing their feelings openly like that... Most likely as well, most of those girls probably had their looks to support their confidence in being paired with someone as pretty as Yuki. What chance does a plain, naïve, and clumsy girl like her have when those other more "qualified" girls didn't even stand a chance?

***

"Tooru-kun," Shigure's voice sighed, "Don't underestimate yourself so much. You may not believe this, but you are well ahead of the race compared to those other girls."

"Sou, sou," Ayame agreed, "It's actually my sweet little brother who needs to be pushed and prodded towards the right direction of male romance!" 

"And don't worry Tooru-kun, A-ya and I are experts on the field," Shigure stated with great pride, "All you have to do is follow Shigure---"

"---and A-ya-sensei's..." Ayame continued before their voices sing-songed together, **_"POINTERS IN THE ART OF MALE ROMANCE!"_**

****

**_***_**

"Haaa~~~" Tooru sighed weakly, her shoulders slightly sagging at the memory. Well... if Shigure and Ayame had that much confidence in her, it would be wrong to let them down before she even tried. She quickly straightened herself once more. "I can do this! I have Shigure-san and Ayame-san to guide me! Nothing can go wrong!"

She quickly knocked, announced her presence then opened the door and slipped inside before she can change her mind. Almost immediately, the morning sunlight streaming through the raised Venetian screens, blinded her eyesight. She gasped as she tottered on her heels and almost clumsily dropped the tray she was carrying on the floor. She quickly straightened up to the pose that Ayame taught her, quietly hoping that Yuki didn't see her awkward entrance.

Apparently he didn't. She found him sitting in the middle of the bed, hugging his pillow, blankets strewn around him, eyes glazed as he stared outside his window. He seemed to be totally oblivious to everything else around him. For some strange reason, Tooru didn't know if she wanted to feel relieved or disappointed.

            But regardless... everything would be in vain if she couldn't get his attention at all.

            So the girl cleared her throat loudly and coughed. On cue, Yuki slowly turned his head to her direction and stared at her with blank, unrecognizing eyes.

Tooru took a deep breath and forced on a nervous smile, "I've come with your breakfast Yuki-ku--- I mean--- Yuki-sama..."

***

"Every man has a secret garden that needs to be tended to," Ayame narrated, "If you were to tap into his deepest fantasies, you'll be in total control of his every desire."

"Step one," Shigure began in an authoritative instructor's tone, "Appearance. Wear something that would tickle his imagination."

"But," The snake interrupted, "It's also most effective if it would go along with his needs."

Shigure nodded thoughtfully, "The past week has been rough on Yuki-kun. And all throughout, he's had his control over almost every aspect of his life stripped away. What he needs now is a fantasy that shows someone nurturing. Someone who will take care of him and let him take back control. Someone who will obey his will unconditionally..." 

***

Yuki blinked uncomprehendingly.

Tooru's heart fell. He didn't seem to be even recognizing her. Of course he won't recognize her! Who would recognize her wearing that ridiculous maid's costume that Shigure made her wear. Though for some reason, it fit her with flattering coincidence. It was almost as if it was tailor-made specifically for her. But still, she felt very uncomfortable in it. The material hugged her body and emphasized curves in places that she didn't even realize that had and was dangerously scarce in places that normally don't see the light of day as she tottered timidly on a pair of scarlet stiletto heels.

And yes... the shoes! She was horrified at the notion of wearing such shoes. They just looked so dangerous. All the time she since was wobbling on them, half of it she afraid of tripping and falling, the other half was that it would fly off her foot as she fell and poke someone's eye out. On top of that... she had to wear them INDOORS! No one sink any lower than wearing shoes meant to be worn outside, INDOORS! 

Her breath got caught in her throat as the sudden realization that Yuki was sitting there and seeing her dressed that way. She felt her face flushing in embarrassment and bowed down her head. Somehow, Yuki seeing her this way felt a hundred times more awkward than the appreciative looks she received from both Shigure and Ayame earlier (before Shigure burst into crocodile tears, wailing something about flowers blossoming in front of his eyes). 

"Anou... Yuki-kun..." Tooru stated again, "Would you like to have your breakfast now?"

"Hon... da...san...?"  Yuki finally spoke slowly... sounding as if his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. 

"Yes," The girl couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief. He recognized her after all. 

"Why are you dressed like that?"  Yuki spoke again in that slow, pressured manner, as if the very action needed great effort

"Because, I'm going to take care of you today," Tooru simply replied, praying that Yuki won't ask any more questions that would make her go through an embarrassing explanation, "Why? Don't you like it? Don't you want me to take care of you?"

The boy blinked at her question. A line furrowed on his forehead, marring his stoic expression as if thinking of an answer also required a great deal of effort. Finally he looked back at her with a thoughtful expression on his face, "I don't mind... but aren't you cold?"

Her lips quivered and the smile wavered... This wasn't the reaction that Shigure or Ayame said to expect. Yuki was supposed to be overcome with emotion with seeing a Tempting and Luscious Goddess of Seduction.

***

            "Step Two," Ayame stated with a serious tone, "A man can never refuse seeing the vision of a Tempting and Luscious Goddess of Seduction. It's more than just the dress, and the look. It's all about attitude. The Goddess is not afraid to show off what she has to offer. Confidence, my dear Tooru-kun... The aura of confidence is a spell more powerful than any love potion. So keep that chin up high, back straight, puff up your chest and walk in long graceful strides, unashamedly sway your beautiful... assssssets."

***

            Tooru let out a long cleansing breath before breathing and holding her breath with puffed cheeks, silently praying that she won't pop out from the flimsy material as she jutted her chest out awkwardly. She then started towards him with stiff teetering high-heeled strides, like a broken toy soldier. For some miracle she managed to cross the room without stumbling and quickly rested her tray on top of the bedside table.

            "Is there anything else you'd like?" The girl inquired as she breathed out before breathing in deeply again, holding her breath with puffed cheeks to jut out her upper torso.

            "Are you sure you're not catching a cold?" Yuki asked, an expression that probably would have normally looked like concern lining his limp features

            breath out "What could be possibly wrong?" deep breath in

            "You're breathing strangely," The mouse noted thoughtfully

***

            "Step Three," Ayame continued, "Little actions and mannerisms to direct a man's attentions towards your charm points help greatly. Batting eyelashes to highlight eyes, flipping hair behind ears to show a slender neck, letting a strap fall to emphasize a shoulder, or reaching down to pull up a stocking to bring attention to a leg."

***

            Tooru's lips quivered before letting her breath out from her puffed cheeks, "Breathing strangely? It's nothing, really..." She batted her eyes, motioned to pull a strand of hair behind her ear... only stop her hand in mid-air as she realized that her hair was neatly tied in a bun.

            "Is there something wrong your eye? There's some eye drops..." Yuki offered helpfully

            "No!" The girl replied with a little too much emotion, "I mean, I'm fine. I just need to fix my stocking."

            She watched his reaction closely as she slowly slid her hands down, grasped the edge of her stocking through the folds of her dress, and pulled at her pantyhose. 

Almost immediately, something that looked distinctively like knowing comprehension lit the mouse's bland features, "Ah... I don't blame you. A wedgie can make people do strange things."

***

            "If all of that fails, proceed to Step Four," Shigure winked as a goofy smile slowly appeared on his face, "Which also happens to be my personal favourite. Men always go wild with a little subtle teasing. A coy look here, a little brush there, bending down to give a little show skin... not too much though... just enough to play with the imagination. And it's not very hard at all with the cute little outfit that you'll be wearing. When you're sure that you have his full and undivided attention, turn your back to him and bend down to pick up something on the floor... BUT... make sure not to bend down your knees too much."

            "And wear white," Ayame nodded as he rubbed his chin, "When you grow older and get more experienced with these things, you'll hear a lot of opinions from other people about this particular subject matter. Whatever they say Tooru-kun, always remember that white is the best color for you. Someone as pure and innocent as yourself must always wear beautiful and pristine white."

***

            "Ha..." Tooru sweat-dropped again as she remembered what the older men instructed her as she met Yuki's vacant gaze. 

She didn't understand entirely what Ayame meant about wearing something white. She felt too embarrassed to ask them to clarify it. And she was still puzzled why bending down to pick something from the floor would be that important... but at that moment, she could feel her feet starting to feel numb from wearing her uncomfortable shoes. It was now or never...

"Anou... Yuki-ku—sama... would you mind if I take of my shoes," Tooru asked shyly 

Yuki blinked again, "You're wearing shoes indoors?"

The girl let out a nervous laugh before turning her back and slowly bent down to loosen her straps. Her eyes widened as she felt cool air brush against her upper thighs as the hem of her short skirt started to rise from her actions. As she instinctively reached behind her to keep it from exposing her underwear, her shoes caused her to stagger from the sudden action and fall inelegantly on the floor with a loud yelp. One shoe flew up in the air, its heel lodging itself between two books in a nearby bookshelf.

"Wow... You could poke someone's eye out with that shoe..." Yuki commented, hints of amazement managing to ooze through his pressured monotone

Tooru gaped at the scene before her speechlessly. She tore her eyes away to look helplessly at the empty doorway, and conjured the images of her teachers from her minds eye to ask them for guidance. "Ayame-san... Shigure-san... what do I do now?" 

The imagined ghosts of her instructors blinked at her blankly. 

"To be quite honest Tooru-kun," Shigure looked a little sheepish, "This is the first time that things turned out like this from our pointers."

"Sou, sou, " Ayame nodded and crossed his arms in deep, before giving Tooru an apologetic look, "I'm afraid we don't know how else we could help you Tooru-kun. It's rather puzzling! Our pointers in Male Romance have never failed before."

She buried her face in her hands and let out a soft sob. How could this have happened? She followed Shigure and Ayame's instructions to the dot. How come every single thing she did is turning out all wrong? Tears started to well in her eyes. She already knew from the beginning that she didn't have a hair's chance when it came to doing things like this. Even if Shigure and Ayame had a million years to train her, it will all turn out the same. She was no Goddess of Seduction. She was just plain and hopeless Tooru. And now, Yuki's going to die because of her fault...

"Tooru," A familiar soothing voice seeped into her consciousness

She lifted her head and saw the image of her mother smiling down at her, "Okaasan! Okaasan, what should I do? I did my best to help Yuki-kun but everything is going all wrong!"

"Tooru, you're trying too hard that you forgot the most important thing," Kyoko's image continued with a wink, "All you really had to do was just be yourself. A woman's greatest charm point is being herself with confidence. If Tooru acts like Tooru, no man will be able to resist you. I know that for sure, you are my daughter, after all."

The girl's eyes widened at her mother's apparition's advice. 

"Sou, sou," Ayame's apparition interrupted as he appeared beside Kyoko, "When Shigure and I were instructing you, Tooru-kun, we didn't want to transform you into someone else. We simply wanted to give you more confidence with your own charms."

"Good little girls should always follow their elder's advice, specially her mother's" Shigure agreed from Kyoko's other side, before turning to the other vision, "It's nice to finally meet you Kyoko-san. And my, don't you look stunning. You don't happen to be interested in younger men, do you?"

"Ha..." Kyoko stared at the writer with dotted eyes

"Gure-san~~!! How could you!?!" Ayame gasped in horror, "Even if we are just representations of Tooru-kun's confused state, how can you cheat on me while I'm standing here right in front of you! With Tooru-kun's mother to boot!"

"Anou..." Kyoko began patiently, an annoyed vein popping on her forehead

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Shigure sighed waving a finger at his cousin, "A-ya, you know that I would never cheat on you! In fact I feel hurt at the thought that you would actually think that Kyoko-san and I will leave you out. And you claim to be an expert in male romance!" Shigure made his point by looping his arm around one of Kyoko's arms.

"Haaa... forgive me Gure-san, how could I have ever doubted you," Ayame replied as he looped himself to her other arm

"NOW WAIT JUST A GODDAMN MINUTE!!!" Kyoko's eyes widened 

"See you later, and good luck, Tooru-kun!" Ayame winked playfully as all three ghostly apparitions disappeared in a flash of smoke leaving Tooru to stare at the spot from where they stood in disbelief

"Okaasan? Shigure-san? Ayame-san? Where did they go?" Tooru whispered out loud as she surveyed her surroundings. She froze as her gaze fell upon Yuki and felt herself flush in embarrassment upon the realization that the boy has been watching her entire ordeal the whole time

To her surprise, Yuki simply gave her sympathetic nod, "You too, huh?"

"No... wait, Yuki-kun... I can explain!" The girl stammered as she struggled to get on her one-shoed feet and managed to stagger to the edge of Yuki's bed

"Don't worry, I won't tell," The boy said reassuringly, "It's not like this is really happening anyway. Chances are, I probably won't even remember any of this when I wake up."

"Ha?" This time, it was Tooru's turn to blink speechlessly

"This always happens. That's why I hate taking sedatives. Everything slows down and it's so hard to think straight," Yuki explained as he shifted around and hugged his pillow tighter, "On top of that, it makes me have these weird dreams. The last time this happened was when I was ten."

"What happened?" The girl asked as she made herself comfortable on the edge of the bed, her curiosity getting the best of her despite the circumstances

"I was watching Haru, and Kyou kick a soccer ball around in Shihan's yard after practice one day. Kyou and Haru got into an argument and Haru turned black. He kicked the ball a little too hard and it flew right at me. I blocked it the wrong way and dislocated my thumb," Yuki replied as he wiggled his left thumb

Tooru couldn't help wincing at the idea.

"It was one of the most painful and disgusting things I've ever gone through in my entire life," The mouse made an involuntary shudder at the memory, "They couldn't even touch me, so they had to completely put me under in order for them to snap it back in place. I had such a bad reaction with the anesthesia that I couldn't eat solid food for almost a week. My mother made me eat nothing but pudding... I hate pudding." 

The girl made an involuntary mental note at that.

"She also said that I only dreamt what I saw, I probably did since I didn't even remember it until now..." Yuki frowned as his voice trailed

            "What did you see?" The girl asked curiously

            The boy slowly lifted his eyes to gaze into the girl's, "I saw God."  

            "Wow..." Tooru gasped, her eyes widened in reply. She suddenly couldn't find the strength to move. Yuki's eyes seemed to have lost its passive glaze and burned with such intensity. It was almost as if the gray orbs she was gazing at had spun a spell on her, and found herself lost in them, "Wha... what did God look like..."

            Yuki's eyes flickered for a second as his eyebrows creased in deep thought, before turning his full attention back to her, "Remember that foreign film about something from the bible that Kuniko-sensei made us watch for World Religion Class?"

            Tooru nodded, still captivated by his eyes.

            "He looked like Jesus..." The mouse replied with utter seriousness, "...only older."

            "Really?" The girl whispered in wonder

            "No," The boy answered without batting an eyelash

            "Ha?" Tooru frowned, feeling a bit bewildered, until she saw the beginning of a small smile tugging at the ends of her companion's lips. She couldn't help but letting out a small giggle from escaping her own mouth, before it transformed into a full blown laughing fit.

            Yuki watched her laugh from his position before allowing the smile to completely form in his lips, "That's nice."

            "What?" Tooru asked wiping the tears that pooled at the corner of her eyes

            "Seeing Honda-san laugh," Yuki replied as he rested his chin on the pillow in his hands, "Even if this is just a dream, it's wasn't right seeing you act nervous and upset. I didn't mind the goofy things you did earlier since it was still like you, but it was disconcerting to see you in tears."

            The girl's eyes widened again and bowed her head. She immediately felt heat rush to her face, her heart suddenly hammering wildly in her chest. All at once, she remembered the reason why she came in the first place. All at once, she realized the reason why it was so hard for her to go through with it. And simply saving him from dying was the least of it.

            When she first stepped into this room, it was out of her selfish pride. She wanted to do this because she blamed herself for what happened, and wanted to play hero like everyone was doing. But now, after talking to Yuki, even in his drug-induced state... she finally and honestly realized it.

            She needed him.

            She needed to hear him talk more about himself. She needed to see his intense gray eyes, the million different expressions that pass through them that he wouldn't allow to openly show in his face. She needed him to worry over her... to have him smile down gently at her... to care for her. She needed the way he made her comfortable when she was anxious. She needed the effortless manner he makes her feel important and special with a few thoughtful words. 

            And she didn't want that to change. 

            It was a double-edged sword... her situation that is. Because whether or not she went through with this, she was going to loose him. She was going to loose him to either death as dictated by the curse she brought upon him... or to the awkward situation between them that was sure to happen after.

            It was a painful ordeal.

            But...

            ...but if Yuki continued to believe that this whole thing was just a dream...

            Tooru lifted her head and gave Yuki a determined look, "Yuki-kun, I've come to a very important decision." 

            Yuki blinked, puzzled at her sudden change in demeanor.

            "I've decided, that I'm going to give you..." The girl squared her jaw as she climbed into his bed and crawled closer, "...the best dream you'll ever have."

            "Eh?" Yuki whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief at her words. 

            "Don't worry, Yuki-kun..." She said huskily as a slow, almost predatory smile crept on the girl's face upon seeing his reaction. She saw something flicker in Yuki's eyes, as if the blanket of haze brought by medication instantly lifted from his clouded mind, and noted with fascination that her pulse start to race again... this time with undeniable excitement. She slowly reached out to cup his cheek, "...I promise to be gentle."

            Then she saw it. 

            He didn't move or push her away like he did to those other girls in the past. But she saw it. As her hand hovered over to gently caress his cheek...

            ...he shut his eyes and flinched.

            She pulled back her hand and felt a painful heaviness in her chest as if her heart suddenly turned into lead. One of her greatest fears finally realized. She was no different from the other girls in school after all. She was a fool to even begin to believe so, simply because of his acts of kindness. In his eyes, she was just like the other girls.

            He didn't want her.

Tears started to flood her eyes once again, but she desperately held them back, not wanting him to see. There's no way she would do this if he didn't want her. Dream or no dream, she would never subject him to that humiliation. The first time should always be special, "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun. I didn't know what came over me. It was just a joke. I'll go now."

She started to leave before she humiliated herself any further, when she felt a sudden tug at the hem of her skirt as she stood. The girl looked back in surprise and saw the boy, head bowed... one arm clutching the pillow in front of him like a security blanket, the other arm holding on to her dress, "Yuki...kun?"      

"Don't go," He whispered softly, but loud enough for her to hear

"What?" Tooru uttered in confusion

"Please... don't leave me again..." Yuki whispered 

The girl frowned as she sat down on the bed again to face him, "Yuki-kun? What do you mean by 'again'."

"Every night you come like this," The boy continued to talk softly, holding on to her skirt as if his life depended on it, "The only thing I ever wanted was for you to stay with me like this. I want to touch you... and hold you... and kiss you... and more... but... whenever I reach out to touch you, I wake up... and you disappear. I thought that... if I didn't touch you this time... you wouldn't go away."

Tooru can only gape at him, completely speechless at his honest revelation. Once again, a deep blush started to creep on her face as the implication of what he just said hit her, "You... dream about me?"

Yuki lifted his face to meet her eyes, "Every night."

Her heart melted as she gazed once again into his intense gray eyes. She watched them widen in surprise as she took the hand attached to her dress into her own, "I'm still here." Tooru smiled as she twined her fingers with his, "You can touch me, and hold me..." She paused as she felt her heart begin its hammering pace once again, "...and kiss me... and more... and I promise you that you won't wake up from this dream. I'll be right here."

Yuki pulled his hand from her grasp and tentatively reached out to touch her face. She closed her eyes as she felt his feather-light caress exploring the wonders of her features. As if memorizing them and imprinting them in memory. Then she felt his fingers reach out behind her head to unclasp the clip tying it into place. Her hair spilled down her shoulders like currents of water released from a dam. She kept her eyes closed as he ran his fingers through her hair, neatly arranging the stray strands that fell over her face, behind her ear.

She held her breath as she felt him shift closer to her then let out a long shuddering sigh as she sensed the radiating warmth from his body searing like hot flames against her skin. She felt him gingerly slide his hand just above the nape of her neck, before she felt his warm lips whispering a soft kiss on her forehead. She held her breath again as she felt him slowly slide his smooth cheek against hers before resting his forehead over her own... their noses lightly brushing against each other, their lips merely centimeters apart. She thought she was going to go insane with anticipation... feeling his nearness, but not really touching. 

He was so close that she could feel his breath mingle with her own... breathing in time with him, breathing the same air as him, breathing him to inside herself... breathing each other's very essence. The simple act was such a powerful feeling that all at once... all at the same time... powerful emotions flooded her entire being. All at once and all at the same time, she felt 

...happy...

...and sad...

...and frustrated...

...and frightened...

Frightened?

But isn't this what she wanted? Didn't she want Yuki to accept her and want her as much as she needed him to feel the same way with her? He won't die and he won't feel awkward after. And nothing will change between them... because at least to him, all of this will just be a beautiful dream. Wasn't this what she wanted?

She felt him shift slightly and she waited for his warm lips to finally brush over her own.

Wasn't it?

But he didn't stop to kiss her... she felt his warm breath continue a downward path towards the crook where her shoulder met her neck...

'No... It wasn't...'

She frowned at the tiny voice of reason that protested from inside her head. 'Stop being so fickle,' she scolded herself in annoyance. She tried to ignore it as she concentrated on the feelings that made her shiver slightly as she felt his lips lightly brush against her jaw.

'Didn't you understand what Shigure-san and Ayame-san told you earlier? And didn't you believe it yourself? The first time is supposed to be special! You can't buy it from the street or force it on someone,' The voice cried out louder and more desperately, 'If the first time is supposed to be special as you believe it is... why do you need to disguise it as a dream that you'll most likely to forget when you wake up?'

Tooru's eyes shot open in shock. No... Her voice of reason was right. This wasn't how she wanted this to happen. On top of needing him to be with her... she also needed him to remember. She needed him to share and remember this moment with her.

His chin rested on the crook of her neck and she felt his weight slowly start to fall over her. Her eyes widened in panic as her hands flew out automatically to push him away. But it was like trying to keep 20-foot tree from toppling over her, as her hands grasped the pillow he still held on to his chest.

"Yu... Yu... YUKI-KUN! W-WAIT!" She cried out desperately unable to stop his full weight from covering her, "S-S-STOP! WE'RE GOING TOO FAST!!!"

But it appeared as if he couldn't hear her words of protest. She could only close her eyes in horror, completely helpless as his weight over her caused her to fall backwards with a loud 'thud'...

...right off the bed and onto the floor.

            "........."

            "...itai..."

To be concluded…

Author's squawk:

            GAAAAH! This chapter not only went longer than usual... it also turned out a bit differently than how I originally planned it. Much more stranger with Tooru's imagination sequences... and GOD SAVE US FROM THE SAAAAP! SAAAAAAAAP! ^_^.

            Anywayz... We all know where Shigure got the maid's costume came from... but where the heck did he get those stiletto heels!!! Heh-heh... it would seem that Ayame is right about men and their secret gardens that need tending too... ^_^.

            Though this is the last chapter, the fic isn't quite over yet. There's still the traditional epilogue to come. Merrow-chan very kindly helped me out to sort the ending of this fic. I was in the middle of a very bad writer's block and Merrow-chan came to my rescue as my ever important muse!

Again, thank you to everyone who has been diligently following this fic and reviewing it. I really appreciate the ego-boosts. ^_^. And hopefully, you will still be around for the grand curtain call! ^_^. Until then...

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


	9. Epilogue

**_Disclaimer_**_: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki-sensei and Hana to Yume comics. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries. _Earlier chapters of this fic are available in Fanfiction.net and Mediaminer.org

September 21, 2003

**_Seven Days : Epilogue_**

By Ina-chan

            "Hnnnnn... I see." 

Tapatapataptapatapa... 

The sound of drumming fingers accompanied the writer's low rumbling baritone as he cradled the receiver on the crook of his neck. A playful grin made it's way on his lips as comprehension lit his face. 

 "So that's the story. I'll make sure to give Tooru-kun the message, Saki-chan."

All of the sudden, the writer's eyes widened in surprise, in response to whatever Hana-chan said on the other line. The impish grin turned into a strained smile, as large droplets of sweat started to bead along his eyebrow.

"Ah, no... nothing's wrong. Tooru-kun is... she's... just busy right now... that's why she can't come to the phone... I'll make sure to tell her to call you back as soon as she's available... BUT..."  

The writer recovered his composure and holding the receiver in his hands and leaned forward, his voice lowering to a gentle hush.

"... if you want to, you're more than welcome to come over and pla..."

Shigure blinked, looking at the receiver on his hand as the dial tone blared loudly. With a small shrug, he replaced it back to its cradle and made his way upstairs. It was just as how he suspected. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, his amusement getting the better of him. After all, it was rather suspicious as to why it took Hanajima Saki this long to give her report. 

Perhaps, he wasn't the only one who was curious with how this would end.

Nonetheless, this was the seventh day deadline. It was needless and cruel to put Yuki in any more torture than he had to endure. He only hoped that the chaos upstairs hasn't gone too far...

...without him, that is.

"Ara? Ha-san? What are you doing out there?" Shigure noted, as he noticed his very stressed-out looking best friend standing just outside his younger cousin's bedroom door, a cigarette at hand.

The dragon took a drag from his cigarette before responding, "What did Honda-kun's friend say?"

"It would seem," Shigure replied with a small chuckle, "That the book was a part of some kind of promotion for this forgettable movie a couple of years back. I suppose there's some left-over paraphernalia in some stores that took the promotion a little too seriously. That the whole seven-day curse thing was a hoax after all."

Hatori raised an eyebrow, "After all? You make it sound like you were skeptical about it from the beginning."

"Since when did I say that I believed it," Shigure replied defensively

"Well, you definitely did nothing to help with damage control," The doctor retorted blandly, "It would have been a lot less grief for everyone if..."

"But that's not fun at all!" The dog interrupted in protest, giving the dragon a wounded look

"I should have known..." Hatori sighed as he pulled out a small silver object from his pocket and discarded his half-finished cigarette in the snuffer

"How are they doing?" Shigure asked curiously

The doctor made another long sigh before motioning to open the mouse's bedroom door. He paused to give the writer a condescending look before continuing on, "Just to let you know... everything that has happened and WILL happen from the moment Honda-kun stepped through these doors... it's entirely your fault."

"Ha-san... That's cruel!" The writer whined in protest in mock indignation, "Besides, A-ya was the one coordinated the whole thing after I told him my idea."

Hatori's lips thinned into a line of displeasure, still looking dispassionately at the other man through half-lidded eyes. He, then, finally pushed the door open to reveal the chaos inside that continued since he, Shigure, Ayame and Kyou rushed to the room after hearing a very painful-sounding 'thud' approximately twenty minutes earlier.

Almost immediately, periodic flashes of light greeted Shigure's eyes. Ayame was literally flying all over the room taking pictures from different angles. Kyou still stood at the corner, unmoving since the dog left the room to answer that phone call. It was as if the cat couldn't decide if he wanted to be completely mortified or give in to pure rage... so his body compromised with shock and paralysis as he continued to stare in disbelief at the tableau on the floor...

"That's our Yuki-kun. Wakes like a zombie and sleeps like the dead," Shigure noted with amusement, "But if you think about it... normal people usually fall asleep **_'AFTER'_**, not **_'BEFORE'_**."

"SHIGURE!" Hatori chided his best friend sternly

"Haaa..." Tooru's muffled voice warbled in reaction

Sprawled on the floor, just by the bed, in plain view... Yuki finally gave in to his weeklong exhaustion and fell into a very deep sleep. Literally. Unfortunately, a very horrified Tooru happened to be, on his line of descent when he fell. Thus, helplessly pinning a very embarrassed girl underneath him.

"A pillow..." Shigure sighed, almost mournfully, "Who would have thought that such a simple thing could be the answer to our prayers!"

"Shigure..." Hatori gave him another warning tone, before turning his attention to the girl, "Honda-kun, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Tooru forced a cheerful smile, "Really! Yuki-kun isn't that heavy at all... well, my arms are starting to feel a bit numb... but it's no big deal... ha-ha-ha...ha..." 

The past couple of minutes until they were interrupted by that prior phone call, the dragon and the dog (since the snake and the cat were obviously too preoccupied to be of any help) were trying to figure out a way to free their poor little flower from her accidental prison without disturbing the sleeping mouse (obviously for fear-motivated reasons). 

It would have been so much simpler if the girl were able to wrap her arms around the sleeping mouse. But as Murphy's Law were to have it... in Tooru's attempt to protect herself from the falling boy, she only managed to pin her arms in between their bodies. And despite Tooru's (obviously false) claims about the mouse's weight, she didn't have the strength to push him away without any assistance.

Not that she's in a hurry in any way. An ever-optimist in the worst-case scenario, she was still thankful for the small miracles that were making the experience less unpleasant than it could have been. 

Well, it was true that she was dying of shame and was enduring the uncomfortable sensation of being crushed under the boy's weight AND was being driven almost insane with the awareness of his warm breath against her ear.... 

But Yuki was shielding her AND the embarrassing dress that she's wearing from Kyou and Hatori's unsuspecting eyes... and Ayame's camera...

There was also the fact that Yuki doesn't drool in his sleep...

"Tooru-kun," Ayame chimed as he paused to take another shot, "Can you do me a favour and tilt your head out a little bit for the camera?"

"Ayame-san..." Tooru's embarrassed muffled reply came weakly as she attempted to hide underneath Yuki's frame even more

"Ayame..." Hatori called out sternly, "Can you please be more considerate of other people?"

"But Tori-san!" Ayame exclaimed in uncharacteristic protest, "This is a rare and important occasion in my sweet little brother's life! Such small miracle occurrences should be preserved and engraved in memory. What better way than to freeze this moment eternally with a photograph that can be cherished..."

"...or to be used as blackmail to make sure that Yuki doesn't commit fratricide when he wakes up and finds out exactly what you and Shigure have done," The dragon interrupted blandly 

"Well, that too," The snake agreed tactfully, unable to resist admitting the truth to the dragon

"Writhing in agonizing pain is not how I want to go," The dog added as he scratched his chin with a goofy smile, "The only way to die is to have a cigarette in one hand, a bottle of sake in the other, held in the arms of a beautiful naked goddess..."

"**_GODDAMMIT!!! WILL ALL OF YOU STOP THINKING OF YOURSELVES AND START DOING SOMETHING TO HELP TOORU?!?!?_**" Kyou exploded, red-faced with fury, finally coming out from his shocked-induced catatonia

"Well then, Kyou-kun," Shigure challenged, "Since you're so much braver than all of us combined, let's see you march over there, haul Yuki-kun off Tooru-kun."

"**_DON'T!_**" Tooru called out a little more passionately than she intended, drawing four pairs of eyes to gape at her in surprise. The girl turned to several shades of red before stuttering her explanation, "Anou... eto... I mean... it's not really a problem.... eto... eto... This is the first time Yuki-kun is finally sleeping soundly in a week... so...  let's not disturb him, ne? Besides, this is all my fault anyway. I have to take responsibility..."

**_"IDIOT!!!" _**Kyou growled angrily as he pointed an indignant finger at his two older cousins, **_"THEY'RE PLAYING WITH YOU FOR THEIR AMUSEMENT!!!"_**

****

"How rude!" Ayame scoffed with a snobbish toss of his silvery strands, "Why don't you just go out and admit it, Kyonkichi. The truth is, Kyonkichi is actually..." Ayame paused for dramatic effect, his golden eyes twinkling playfully, "...jealous."

**_"NA!?!?!"_** Kyou yelled as he stepped backwards in surprise, a telltale scarlet flush making his already red face grow even redder

"Ahh, ahh..." Shigure joined in, "That is understandable. I can't help but feel jealous, myself... Imagine! To have a beautiful girl lying yieldingly beneath---"

**_"I'M NOT LIKE EITHER OF YOU, YOU PERVERTS!!!"_** Kyou bellowed indignantly, **_"I'M NOT JEALOUS OF YUKI!!!"_**

"Ara! Can it be!?!?"  Ayame exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief at his younger cousin, "That Kyonkichi is actually jealous of Tooru-kun!?!?"

"!!!!!!!"

"Haaa~~~~"

Hatori sighed, automatically reaching out for his black bag and started to pull out items he anticipated that he would need. 

Shigure sweat dropped and slowly retreated backwards out of the room to the safety of the hallways. The writer couldn't help but flinch in sympathy as the indignant cat's fiery tempest unleashed its wrath on the unfortunate snake.

"A-a-ayame-san... K-k-..." The girl stammered, instantly going on super-shocked mode

Yuki frowned in his sleep and stirred slightly at the noise. As if they were in a video and the person watching them pushed the "pause" button on the vcr, all the occupants of the room froze simultaneously, holding their breath in alarm.  But instead of opening his eyes, the mouse relaxed and simply snuggled against Tooru, shifting to a more comfortable position with a soft sigh. 

The temperature in the room seemed to have risen as Kyou's battle aura flared dangerously in response to his cousin's spontaneous actions.

Shigure closed the door behind him and made his escape. That was one inevitable scenario that he did not want to be involved with. There's also the expected confrontation state of affairs with a fully conscious Yuki later on. 

The writer sighed. Well, what will happen will happen. There's really nothing much anyone can do about it. Que sera sera..

Though he had to admit, having the chance to observe the drama that unfolded in the house the past seven days was definitely worth it. Everyone reacted within how he predicted they would, as if he had written the chapters of the entire scenario with his own hands.  Needless to say, another wicked smile made its way to the writer's lips as an idea presented itself, in his mind's eye. 

The new chapter unfolding as the result of this was something to look forward to as well.

He should be ashamed of using Tooru like that to play with his younger cousins... but both of them needed a gentle shove... and a swift kick on their asses... to get them moving towards the right direction. 

He'll never admit it aloud, but he didn't want his younger cousins to let their opportunities with Tooru pass them by, and live the rest of their adult life with the regret of not making enough effort of letting their true feelings be known until it was too late...

 ...of course, it was a lot of fun watching them squirm in the process as well. The expression on Kyou's face was priceless when they first entered the room and saw the state Yuki and Tooru were in...

"Sensei? What are you doing in my house?" A familiar monotone invaded the writer's thoughts, pulling him back into reality

Shigure blinked and saw Hatsuharu sitting in the common room, watching him stoically, "I should be asking you... You're in MY house."

"Hnnnn...." The Ox hnnned as he surveyed his surroundings, "So it seems."

"Ha-kun, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be grounded for a month?" Shigure asked curiously as he stood before the younger man

"I was on my way back to my room from the toilet but suddenly, I found myself here," Haru intoned, "Mystery..."

Beads of sweat lined on the writer's forehead, "Well, you might as well stay until Ha-san is done upstairs and go back home with him."

"I'm sorry for the trouble. Ah Sensei, I found this by the front door. I was wondering why there was a package marked for sensei at my house. It all makes sense now," The Ox replied as he pulled out a small brown package, "It's very strange though. It doesn't have a return address..."

Shigure took the package from the boy and opened it, to reveal a single unlabeled videotape. The dog frowned as two questions blared in his head. What the hell was this? And who the hell would send something like this to him?

"Hnnn..." Hatsuharu hnnned again, "It's just like that movie?"

The writer raised an eyebrow, "Movie?"

The Ox nodded thoughtfully, "It was about this mysterious videotape. It didn't have a label and no one knew where it came from... just like that. But the tape turned out to be cursed. Because on the exact time, seven days after watching it, all those who saw the movie in the tape mysteriously ended up... dead."

"Hnnnn..." It was Shigure's turn to hnnnn as he glanced back down on the video tape, "That sounds very interesting."

"Well... it's either that or it's a video girl tape left for you to end your loneliness by a passing video rental manager from a magical video rental store," Hatsuharu replied without batting an eye

"Ha-kun..." Shigure began in the same serious manner, "You've been watching anime non-stop from the past two of days, haven't you?"

"There's not much to do when you're grounded," The boy replied 

"Want to see something interesting?" The dog asked, a familiar mischievous twinkle lighting his eye, "Go to upstairs... Yuki-kun is finally sleeping with Tooru-kun."

Without missing a beat, Haru instantly got on his feet and made his way upstairs... through the kitchen. Shigure contemplated redirecting the boy to the right direction for a moment, but decided against it and shrugged. After all there were other important things to consider... such as the mysterious videotape in his hands. 

The dog suddenly found himself in a special dilemma...

He personally didn't believe that whole story about the coincidentally cursed videotape... but Yuki had demonstrated how potent the power of suggestion can be to mustering the silliest of notions into self-fulfilling-prophesies. But at the same time, his curiosity would drive him insane if he doesn't find out what's in his tape.

Tapatapataptapatapa... 

The sound of drumming his fingers almost blared loudly in the silence of the room as the writer contemplated. Then his fingers stopped in mid-beat. A playful grin slowly made it's way on his lips as realization lit his face. He instantaneously got on his feet and made his way to the telephone.

"Harro Mi-chan! How are you? Yes... about the 500 pages... I was wondering if you're free to come over and play today... "

Owari...?

Author's squawk:

            It's done! It's done! IT'S DONE!!!!! 

            Well, I managed to keep all the promises intoned throughout the chapters except the virginity thing. But this is still fun. ^_^. Thank you to everyone for being patient with reading this fic. Your kind reviews (and death threats) in FF.NET, Mediaminer.org and private mail has been motivational in finishing this. And a very special thank you to Merrow for helping me keep focused!

Did you know that this fic is almost a year old? I started it on December 22, 2002! Whew! I'm glad this is over! Now I can focus on my other unfinished fics. ^_^. 

Comments, criticisms and flame throwers at ina_chan@yahoo.com

Ja!  
Ina-chan


End file.
